The Ministry of Education Monday 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). S Jothimani, a Congress party member, had questioned the central government about the data on the grants released to the Central Institute of Classical Tamil and Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan since 2014, year-wise. Year CICT (in lakh) CSU (in lakh) 2014-15 827.36 12580.00 2015-16 1199.68 16147.36 2016-17 510.44 14919.74 2017-18 1067.63 19831.06 2018-19 465.25 21437.99 2019-20 980.78 24699.28 2020-21 1173.00 19285.07 2021-22 1186.15 19883.16 The Minister of State for Education Subhas Sarkar told Lok Sabha that 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. Sarkar also informed Lok Sabha that the Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR) has signed Memorandum of Understandings (MOUs) with eight international universities for "establishment of Indian Chairs abroad in classical languages comprising of Sanskrit and Tamil. The ICCR has established a Tamil Chair in Poland," the minister said. When asked if the government has taken any steps to promote Tamil as a classical language, Sarkar informed the Lok Sabha that 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.
