Uttarakhand plans to teach 1 lakh people spoken Sanskrit
Apart from language training, the program also involves setting up Vedic study centres to encourage the discovery of ancient works written in Sanskrit. A short film competition in Sanskrit on modern themes is also on the cards, officials said.The chief minister pointed out the state's long history of connection with yoga, AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homoeopathy), sages, and Sanskrit itself during the meeting.He stated, "Debate, essay competitions, and shloka (verse) recitation contests in Sanskrit must also be held in schools and colleges."Pushkar Singh Dhami also suggested that nodal officers be appointed at each district level to monitor the promotion of the language and ordered that "nameplates in all offices must be in Sanskrit."advertisementSanskrit Education Minister Dhan Singh Rawat announced that a village in every one of Uttarakhand's 13 districts is being promoted as a 'Sanskrit Gram', an ideal village where the inhabitants will be trained and motivated to speak Sanskrit among themselves.In addition to this, to further consolidate the initiative, he suggested the initiation of a scholarship scheme for Sanskrit students and an incentive program for priests, both to improve the language's access and utility in the entire state.
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Leadership and policies should help businesspersons and youth to move forward. We are doing that across sectors. Rajasthan's spirit of entrepreneurship Rajasthan's entrepreneurs are born entrepreneurs. In the first year of our term, we organised the three-day Rising Rajasthan Summit in December 2024 to attract investments, dedicating a full day to businesspersons from Rajasthan and the diaspora, who we believe will lead the way in investing here. Opportunities span education, skilling, trading, mining, logistics, hospitality, and health — open not just to Rajasthanis but to all. The summit was global. During international visits, investors were struck by the state's potential across a dozen sectors, not just tourism. Rajasthan in India's $5 trillion-economy goal India today has a strong leader in Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Leadership plays a crucial role — whether in a family, a team, or a nation. When the Centre sets the goal of a $5 trillion economy and promotes 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat', it inspires confidence among entrepreneurs. The previous government felt being the largest market was a weakness. But PM Modi views it as our strength. The India-European Free Trade Association (EFTA) trade pact is an example. For the first time, European nations have given a binding commitment not only to provide technology but also to invest $100 billion. Similarly, India has signed an energy treaty with the United Arab Emirates and a trade pact with Singapore. The government has fostered an environment of growth through initiatives like the production-linked incentive scheme for semiconductor manufacturing — a critical industry where India must build self-reliance. Such policies benefit states. Every business investing in India must choose a state to locate in, and that is where states matter. Under Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma, Rajasthan has adopted two clear principles: Make it easy to do business in the state, and reduce the cost of doing business. Since taking office, we have introduced nine policies in critical sectors. These include an export-promotion policy — Rajasthan has always exported goods but never had a structured policy. We now have policies for logistics, garment manufacturing, cluster development, one-district-one-product, and data centres; an artificial intelligence policy is on the way. Each lays out clearly what the government will do and provide, ensuring investors face no ambiguity. Beyond Rising Rajasthan, where we inked memoranda of understanding (MoUs), we are also handholding businesses. We are hiring consultants to make file movements easy for entrepreneurs. We have also created an IT structure, where single-window clearances are not done in offices but on an app. This IT structure is visible to the CM, ministers, and entrepreneurs, who know exactly where the file is. Reducing cost of doing business We have introduced direct land allotment to reduce the cost of doing business. The earlier policy of land auctions might have brought one-time revenue, but it did little for employment. High land prices fuelled real estate activity instead of manufacturing, offering no real benefit to Rajasthan's youth. Our approach is to move beyond slogans. The Rajasthan Investment Promotion Scheme (RIPS 24) is an example. Unlike the previous government, which provided no incentives, we extended nearly ₹1,000 crore incentives in the first year, benefitting 2,300 companies. This is just the beginning. We want to create employment in Rajasthan right now; we cannot wait for tomorrow. We have also made underdeveloped land available to industries without delay. 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