The Ministry of Education on December 19 informed Lok Sabha that the government has spent Rs 19883.16 lakh on Central Sanskrit University (CSU), which is much more than the Rs 1186.15 lakh spent on Central Institute of Classical Tamil (CICT).

“In 2021-22 the government has allocated Rs 1186.15 lakh for Tamil language, but the Central Sanskrit University received grants of Rs 19883.16 lakh,” the Minister of State for Education Subhas Sarkar stated.

“The Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR) has signed a Memorandum of Understandings (MOUs) with eight international universities for the establishment of Indian Chairs abroad in classical languages comprising Sanskrit and Tamil. The ICCR has established a Tamil Chair in Poland,” the Minister said.

The Central Institute of Classical Tamil was established for the development and promotion of classical Tamil. To do so, the institute conducts seminars, workshops, short-term projects, and translation of Tirukkural and other classical texts into scheduled and other languages, the Minister stated when asked if the government has taken any steps to promote Tamil as a classical language

S Jothimani, a Congress MP, had raised the question over the data on the grants released to the Central Institute of Classical Tamil and Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan since 2014, year-wise.