What’s in Today’s Article?

• Background (Context of the Article)
• About CSTT (Meaning, Purpose, Shabd Glossary, Process, etc.)

Background:

• In alignment with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, the Indian government has taken steps to promote education in Indian languages.
• This includes technical education in disciplines like engineering and medicine. One of the major initiatives under this policy is the "AICTE Technical Book Writing and Translation" project, which aims to provide technical textbooks in 12 scheduled Indian languages.
• To further this mission, the Commission for Scientific and Technical Terminology (CSTT) plays a pivotal role in standardising technical and scientific terms in Indian languages.

What is CSTT?

• It was established in October 1961 with an objective to standardise scientific and technical terminology in Indian languages to ensure uniformity and clarity in communication.
• CSTT regularly publishes bilingual, trilingual, and multilingual glossaries, definitional dictionaries, and monographs.
• Additionally, it brings out quarterly journals like ‘Vigyan Garima Sindhu’ and ‘Gyan Garima Sindhu’.
• CSTT also focuses on the publication of university-level textbooks in Indian languages, collaborating with Granth Academies, textbook boards, and publication cells across the country.
• Its efforts extend to the publication of administrative and departmental glossaries used widely by government departments, institutions, research labs, and public sector units.

The ‘Shabd’ Glossary Platform:

• The CSTT has launched an online platform called ‘Shabd’, available at https://shabd.education.gov.in, which serves as a central repository for technical and scientific terms in Indian languages.
• This data server hosts all the glossaries compiled by CSTT in a digital, searchable format.
• Other institutions or agencies that prepare dictionaries can also upload their works to this platform, making it a one-stop solution for accessing standardized terminology.
• Users can search terms based on language, subject, and dictionary type, and provide feedback on the existing terminology.
• This dynamic platform aims to create a unified resource for technical terms across various disciplines.

The Process of Term Standardization:

• The terminologies on the 'Shabd' platform are prepared by Expert Advisory Committees consisting of subject matter experts, linguists, and language specialists.
• These committees identify equivalent terms in Indian languages for specific subject areas.
• Once finalized, these terminologies are used by institutions like Granth Academies, NCERT, NTA, AICTE, and various textbook boards.
• The platform currently offers terms derived from several reference materials, including definitional dictionaries and glossaries compiled by CSTT over the years.
• The ‘Shabd’ portal, launched in March 2024, has already received significant attention, with 1,36,968 hits from users across India and the world.
• This indicates growing interest in accessing and utilising standardized technical terms in Indian languages.
• Terms & Disciplines Covered:
  • As of now, the portal contains around 322 glossaries comprising 21,84,050 headwords. These terms span multiple disciplines, including:
    • Humanities
    • Social Sciences
    • Medical Sciences
    • Engineering
    • Agricultural Sciences
  • In addition, more than 60 subjects are covered, such as Journalism, Public Administration, Chemistry, Botany, Zoology, Psychology, Physics, Economics, Ayurveda, Mathematics, Civil and Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Political Science, Agriculture, Transport, Geology, Cell Biology, Forestry, and more.
• Future Plans:
  • Moving forward, CSTT plans to integrate Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other digital technologies to accelerate the development of standardized terminology.
  • This will ensure that Indian languages continue to evolve with advancements in education and technology.

Conclusion:

• The Commission for Scientific and Technical Terminology (CSTT) is at the forefront of promoting education in Indian languages by standardizing technical terms across various disciplines.
• With the launch of the ‘Shabd’ platform and its commitment to using cutting-edge technologies, CSTT is helping India achieve its vision of accessible and effective education in regional languages, in line with the goals of the National Education Policy 2020.