Schemes for Sanskrit Promotion
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Introduction

Sanskrit has played a vital role in the development of all Indian languages and in the preservation of the cultural heritage of India. It becomes essential to preserve and propagate Sanskrit for all-round development of India. The Sanskrit Commission, appointed by the Government of India in 1956, has recommended that support and patronage should be extended to important active private academies and bodies which are working for the popularization of Sanskrit in their respective regions.

The Government of India, in pursuance of the recommendations of the Sanskrit Commission (1956-57) constituted a Central Sanskrit Board, which recommended the establishment of a Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan. The Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan was established in 15th October, 1970 as an autonomous organisation registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 (Act XXI of 1860) for the Development and Promotion of Sanskrit at all over the country. It has been declared as Central Sanskrit University, Delhi (CSU) since 30th April, 2020 through an act passed by Parliament of India. It functions as an apex body for propagation and development of Sanskrit and assists the Ministry of Education in formulating and implementing various plans and Central Schemes for the promotion and development of Sanskrit studies.

The Government of India has introduced various Central Schemes for the promotion of Sanskrit by way of extending financial assistance to the applicants falling under respective schemes. These schemes were stand transferred along with budget provisions to Central Sanskrit University, Delhi (formerly Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan (RSkS)) for their execution and implementation on the recommendations of duly constituted Grants-in-Aid Committee (GIAC). After the transfer of various schemes from time to time (in 1979, 1986, 1991, 1995 and 2006), they were last revised in year 2007. Further, the schemes for ‘Pali & Prakrit’ since 2009 and Ashtaadashi (18 Projects) since 2016 are also implemented by Central Sanskrit University as per the directions of Ministry of Education. Currently, all 13 Central Schemes are being implemented through the Central Sanskrit University as the nodal agency of Ministry of Education, Government of India for overall promotion and development of Sanskrit language & education.