Dharmendra Pradhan releases 55 literary works in classical Indian languages
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan released 55 literary works in classical Indian languages in New Delhi on 6 January 2026, including a Tirukkural series in Indian Sign Language.
Summary
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan released 55 literary works in classical Indian languages in New Delhi on 6 January 2026. The set includes 41 books from the Centres of Excellence for Classical Languages under the Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL), and 13 books plus a Tirukkural Indian Sign Language series from the Central Institute of Classical Tamil (CICT), covering Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, Odia and Tamil. For background, the Centres for Excellence for Classical Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam and Odia function under CIIL, Mysuru; the Linguistic Experts Committee works under the Sahitya Akademi; and Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Assamese and Bengali got classical status on 3 October 2024.
Key facts
- Released by
- Dharmendra Pradhan, 6 January 2026, New Delhi
- Total
- 55 works
- CIIL
- 41 books from Centres of Excellence for Classical Languages
- CICT
- 13 books + Tirukkural in Indian Sign Language
- Languages
- Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, Odia, Tamil
- Static
- CIIL is in Mysuru; LEC under Sahitya Akademi; 5 languages added on 3 Oct 2024
Practice MCQs 3 questions
How many literary works in classical Indian languages did Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan release on 6 January 2026?
Show answer
Correct answer: B — 55
PIB (Ministry of Education): he released 55 literary works — 41 books from CIIL's Centres of Excellence plus 13 books and a Tirukkural sign language series from CICT.
Which classical Tamil work was released in an Indian Sign Language series by the Central Institute of Classical Tamil in January 2026?
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Correct answer: D — Tirukkural
PIB (Ministry of Education): CICT brought out a Tirukkural Sign Language series along with 13 books.
Consider the following statements regarding classical languages in India: 1. The Centres for Excellence for studies in Classical Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam and Odia function under the Central Institute of Indian Languages, Mysuru. 2. The Sahitya Akademi is the nodal agency for the Linguistic Experts Committee that examines classical language proposals. 3. Marathi and Bengali were among the languages granted classical status on 3 October 2024. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
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Correct answer: C — 1, 2 and 3
PIB (Cabinet, 3 October 2024): the Centres of Excellence are under CIIL, Mysuru; Sahitya Akademi is the nodal agency for the LEC; and Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Assamese and Bengali were granted classical status. All three are correct.