Union Minister for Human Resource Development (HRD) Ramesh Pokhriyal on Tuesday chaired a meeting to discuss various issues concerning the promotion of the Urdu language inside and outside the country here today.
According to an official release, Pokhriyal inaugurated the new website of the National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language (NCPUL).
A presentation of the activities of the NCPUL and a vision document related to the activities to be carried out by the council in the next five years were presented before him.
During the meeting, he said that the grants that are given to the NGOs for the promotion of Urdu Language should be utilized fully.
He advised the council members to make random inspections of the NGOs to ensure that the grants issued are utilized in a transparent manner.
Pokhriyal also suggested to the members to work closely with the council's director and vice chairman to chart out activities and ensure that the message reaches the general public that the government is committed to the promotion of Urdu Language.
He said that the funding of the Urdu Council has been increased from Rs 45 crores in the year 2013-14 to Rs 84 crores in the year 2019-20. The increase in 45% funding in five years is phenomenal, he added.
The Minister said that effective steps should be taken to utilize the increased amount.
The decision for extension of 'The Paper Mache scheme', which is currently implemented through Kashmir University, was also discussed in the meeting.
In this scheme Rs 15 Lakhs is spent every year to train the Kashmiri youths to make paper mache products, which have a high demand in the market.
( With inputs from ANI )