NEW DELHI, Aug 3 (PTI) Telecom and IT Minister Kapil Sibal today said that training institute, NEILIT, under his ministry is looking at generating jobs linked with Urdu language.
“We have started one more initiative to connect Urdu language with employment. We have started a new programme NEILIT. It will open 50 centres in India where Urdu speaking children will be given training on electronics hardware. So that they get employment,” Sibal said while launching Urdu Pedia and Urdu language software tools here.
National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology (NIELIT) comes under Ministry of Communications and IT.
The Minister added that the centre will start training 40 students and later more such centres will be set up.
“We want proliferation of Urdu language on the internet like English. I want people to tweet in Urdu, use Urdu on facebook. There is lot that we have to do for this language,” Sibal said.
Government has launched Urdu Pedia on lines of Wikipedia where people can contribute to the content in Urdu language after registering on its website. The content will be checked by a moderator to ensure authentic content is uploaded on the website.
Last month Sibal had unveiled first set of Urdu language fonts and keypad developed in India. Earlier, people in India used urdu fonts and tools developed in Pakistan.
“Urdu was born in India. It had been almost three decades when digital highway started building up in India, but no one thought of Urdu on it. It is not even six months when we discussed about Urdu with Kapil Sibal saheb and he has now delivered it,” National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language Director Khwaja Mohammed Ikram said.
He added that nothing new has happened so far in the development of Urdu fonts but “now we can say what is there is ours. Earlier we borrowed it from someone but now it is Indian.” (PTI)