Union Minister G. Kishan Reddy has said that the Government has given special emphasis on cultural development and unity along with infrastructure development, economic development and agriculture. Briefing media in New Delhi this morning, the Minister said that the languages of the country are an important base for the nation’s unity and cultural history.

Speaking about the Country’s historical diversity, Mr Reddy said India has 121 prominent languages and nearly 1600 dialects. He added that languages are not only a mode of communication but also an important heritage of knowledge culture and traditions. Mr. Reddy also mentioned that the Union Government has taken initiatives to preserve and protect languages and dialects as languages are an important medium for empowerment and personal expression.

Speaking of the three-language formula in the National Education Policy 2020, the Minister said that it will add more flexibility for the students and encourage common people to use the regional languages in education and employment.

Mr Reddy said in October this year the Union Cabinet gave classical language status to Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Assamese and Bengali. He added that India is the only country which has given classical language status to 11 languages.