Will the Minister of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:
(a) whether there is any monetary consideration in getting Hindi included as official language in the United Nations Organisation (UNO);
(b) if so, the details thereof;
(c) whether the Government intends to allocate funds for the said purpose; and
(d) if so, the details thereof?
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
(SHRI M. J. AKBAR)
(a) to (d) Getting Hindi accepted as an official language of the United Nations will indeed involve additional expenditure, however this additional expenditure cannot be borne only by India. According to the rules of the United Nations, the additional expenditures has to be contributed by all member states of the UN. That is why a vote held on any proposal to make a language an official language of UN, and such a vote must be passed by a two third majority.
On several occasions Indian leaders have delivered statements at the UN in Hindi including Prime Minister’s statement at the 69th UNGA in September 2014, the address of Prime Minister to the UN Sustainable Development Summit in September 2015, and the addresses to the UNGA by External Affairs Minister during its 70th, 71st and 72nd sessions in 2015, 2016 and 2017 respectively. Necessary special arrangements were made for simultaneous interpretation of these statements into English by the Permanent Mission of India in New York.
The Government continues its efforts in popularizing Hindi worldwide. A World Hindi Secretariat has also been set up in Mauritius in February 2008, to promote Hindi as an international language. In the current financial year (2017-18) Rs 5 crores has been allocated for the propagation of Hindi worldwide through the Diplomatic Missions/Posts of India abroad.