RBI/ 2008-09/74
DBOD No. Rajbhasha BC.13 /06.11.04/2008-09
July 1, 2008
10th Ashadha 1930 (S)
Chairman & Managing Director
All Public Sector Banks
Dear Sir,
Master Circular - Use of Hindi in banks
Please refer to our Master Circular DBOD No.Rajbhasha.BC.5/ 06.11.04/ 2007-08 dated July 2, 2007 on the captioned subject. The Master Circular has been suitably updated by incorporating instructions issued up to June 30, 2008 and has also been placed on the RBI web-site (http://www.rbi.org.in).
Yours faithfully,
(Vinay Baijal)
Chief General Manager
Master Circular Use of Hindi in Banks
Purposes
To monitor progress in use of Hindi in public sector banks in accordance
with the Official Language Policy of the Government of India
Classification
Guidelines issued under Official Language Policy of the Government of India Previous
guidelines superceded Master Circular DBOD. Rajbhasha. BC.
No. 5/06.11.04/2007-08 dated July 2, 2007 on Use of Hindi in banks.
Application
All public sector banks (excluding RRBs)
1. Introduction
Use
of Hindi in Public Sector Banks is governed by the Official Languages Act (OLA),
1963 (as amended in 1967) and the Official Language Rules (OLR), 1976 (framed
under the Act by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Department of Official language
(DOL), Government of India (GOI). As provided under the Act and Rules, GOI, Ministry
of Home Affairs, DOL prepares the broad guidelines and also the annual programme
for progressive use of Hindi. Monitoring the progress in use of Hindi in Public
Sector Banks is done by the Department of Banking Operations and Development (DBOD),
Central Office, Reserve Bank of India. At the instance of GOI, Ministry of Finance
(Banking Division), an Official Language Implementation Committee (OLIC) of Public
Sector Banks, with the Chief General Manager of DBOD as its ex-officio Chairman
and Senior Executives of the rank of General Managers of Public Sector Banks as
members, has been constituted in 1976; it reviews the progress in implementation
of the Official Language Policy (OLP) through the quarterly meetings.Based
on the guidelines/instructions received from GOI, as also the decisions taken
at the quarterly meetings of OLIC, DBOD issues the guidelines/instructions to
Public Sector Banks to fulfill the requirements and achieve the targets set by
GOI. The instructions/guidelines issued by DBOD in this regard are furnished in
the following paragraphs. (Incidentally, the Official Language Policy is not applicable
to banks other than Public Sector Banks though some instructions had been issued
to private sector banks also to do the customer service in Hindi. As such, in
the following paragraphs, Public Sector Banks have been referred to as “banks”
only)
.2. Correspondence in Hindi
a) i) All communications, received in Hindi from the Central Government Offices*
and the State Governments** and
the members of the public in Hindi should be entertained and invariably be replied
to in Hindi irrespective of the region in which the bank or its office/branch
is located.(ii) All communications received in Hindi should be disposed
of expeditiously.
b) As per Govt. of India instructions, English translation
of letters received in Hindi is to be discouraged unless they are of legal and
technical nature. However, the simple letters received in Hindi should not be
sent to the Hindi Section for English translation as a matter of routine.
c) Hindi may be used for writing addresses on the envelopes etc. sent by banks’
offices to Hindi speaking areas. [This decision has been extended to region ‘B’
also (vide O.M. No. 12024/4/90-OL (B-2) dated 16th May 1990 of GOI, Ministry of
Home affairs, DOL)]
3. Acceptance of cheques
drawn and signed in Hindi (i) The offices of banks situated
in Hindi speaking areas should display prominently in their Banking Halls notice-boards
in Hindi and English indicating that the bank accepts cheques drawn/ signed in
Hindi.(ii) Cheques drawn, endorsed and signed in Hindi should be accepted
for payment without observance of any additional formality. (iii) The drawing
officers of the Government offices whose specimen signatures are registered with
the offices of the banks, should be permitted to use only one language, i.e. either
Hindi or English, for the purpose of signing cheques. 4.
Signature in Hindi on official documents
a) Official documents
drawn up in English can be signed in Hindi. However, name of the signatory may
be typed in English below the signature. Documents of financial nature (including
pay bills) can also be signed in Hindi; the officer, should, however, record his
signature in one script only on such documents in order to obviate chances of
confusion or fraud.
b) The term “Official Documents” will include
all notes, drafts/ fair copies of letters, sanctions/registers etc. wherein a
person signs in his official capacity instead of his personal/individual capacity.
c)
The official documents/correspondence can be signed in any language as the signature
of a particular person is merely a symbol and it can be in any language.
5.
Implementation of the Section 3(3) of Official Languages Act, 1963
i)
In terms of Section 3(3) of Official Languages Act, 1963, the following documents
should invariably be issued in Hindi and English simultaneously:a) Resolutions,
General Orders*, Rules, Notifications,
Administrative and other report and Press Communiques;
b) Administrative
and other reports and Official papers laid before a House or the Houses of Parliament;
c) Contracts and agreements executed, and licenses, permits, notices and
forms of tender issued by the banks.
ii) Banks should furnish data/information
as per the revised definitions/ clarifications (issued in October 1991) in the
Quarterly Progress Reports required to be submitted by them.
6.
Issuing advertisements bilingually.
a) Advertisements, Press
Communiques/Releases etc. meant for all-India coverage and for Hindi speaking
areas, should be issued in Hindi and English simultaneously (Hindi advertisements
in Hindi newspapers and English advertisements in English newspapers).
b)
Notices issued by/on behalf of the Central Government or a Corporation or
a Company owned or controlled by Central Government or any other office of such
corporation or company should be both in Hindi and English languages.
7.
Bilingualisation of Annual Reports
Annual reports should be
simultaneously brought out in Hindi and English. This
report should contain
a separate chapter or section regarding the progress made in
the use of Hindi
during the year under report.
8. Hindi
version of the term ‘A Government of India Undertaking’
Banks should use the term “Bharat Sarkar ka Upkram” in Hindi as Hindi
version of the English term “A Govt. of India Undertaking”.
9.
Bilingualisation of stationery itemsa)
(i) As per Rule 11(3)
of the Official Language Rules, 1976, all registers, file covers etc. should be
bilingualised and Hindi version should precede the English version;
(ii)
Letter-heads etc. should be printed in both Hindi and English and Hindi version
should precede the English version therein. The entire matter including the emblem
in the letter-heads, and not only the names of the banks, should be printed bilingually;
(iii)
Envelopes being used by the banks should carry their names and addresses in bilingual
form, Hindi version preceding the English version;
(iv) Seals and rubber
stamps should be prepared in bilingual form. Although the clearing house stamps
may be prepared in bilingual form, if all the member banks unanimously agree,
the same may be prepared only in Hindi in Region ‘A’;
(v) Diaries,
wall-calendars, desk-calendars etc., should be printed bilingually. It is desirable
that not only the legends but also the description, if any, may be printed bilingually
thereon.
b)
(i) Banks should, as per the official language policy, get their
stationery items printed bilingually in Hindi and English and, if necessary, trilingually,
i.e., in Hindi, English and regional language.
(ii) As regards the use of
regional language in correspondence with the public, Government had explained
that Hindi had been declared as the Official Language of the Union under Article
343(1) of the Constitution. The Official Languages Act, 1963 had been passed by
the Parliament (after an ordinance was promulgated by the President in 1960) and
the same was amended by the Parliament in 1967. It is clear from the constitutional
and the statutory provisions that use of Hindi and English, but not of any regional
language, has been authorised for the official work of the Union. Further, Article
345 of the Constitution authorises use of regional languages for the official
work of the States.
10. Display of name-boards,
designation boards, counter boards, sign boards etc.
a) All
sign boards, counter boards, name boards of the bank and other boards, placards
etc. should be displayed in Hindi, besides English in Hindi speaking areas.
b)
Banks should prominently display notice boards at branches in Hindi speaking areas
to the effect that forms etc. filled in Hindi are entertained by them.
c)
The name/designation boards of the offices/officials of the banks, as also the
name-boards of the Departments/ Divisions, etc. should be displayed bilingually
in the offices in Regions ‘A’ and ‘B’
11.
Use of Hindi for Internal Circulars, Office Orders, Invitation Cards etc.
i) General Orders, circulars, standing instructions, etc. relating
to the staff in banks’ offices in Regions ‘A’ and ‘B’,
should be issued bilingually.
ii) To begin with, bilingual issue of show
cause notices and charge sheets to the staff of the banks should be restricted
to Region ‘A’ only.
iii) The invitation cards, etc. for official
function should be issued both in Hindi and English. Such invitation cards may
be printed in trilingual form, including the regional language concerned, wherever
required. In trilingual form of such cards, the order of the language should be
i) Regional Language,
ii) Hindi and iii) English.
12.
Issue of bilingual agenda notes and proceedings of all-India conferences
The
agenda notes and proceedings may be issued both in Hindi and English simultaneously
in respect of the conferences attended, inter-alia, by ministers and non-officials
from Hindi speaking States and conferences convened to discuss matters relating
to Hindi to which non-officials are also invited. The agenda notes and proceedings
of all-India conferences of public interest which are, inter-alia, attended by
ministers and non-officials from Region ‘A’ may also be issued bilingually.
13.
Setting up of Hindi Depts./ Sections/ Cells etc.
Hindi Cells/Sections/Departments
with adequate complement of staff viz. Hindi Officers, Translators, clerical staff,
Hindi Typists, Hindi Stenographers etc. should be set up in the offices of the
banks. These Cells etc. should be provided with sufficient number of Hindi typewriters
and all Rajbhasha officers should be provided with PCs with proper bilingual softwares.
Rajbhasha departments at Head Offices and Zonal/ Regional offices and training
colleges should also be provided with internet connections.
14.
Formation of Hindi cadre and filling up of Hindi Posts
a) Banks
should take effective steps to ensure posting of Rajbhasha officers at different
levels as per staffing pattern laid down by the Government of India, Ministry
of Finance (Banking Division).
b)Banks should take necessary steps to
form an Official Language Cadre and fill up the related vacancies as desired by
the Committee of Parliament on Official Language.
15.
Duties of Hindi Officers
Hindi Officers should take more interest
to ensure compliance of the provisions of the Official Languages Act and the Official
Language Rules. The work to be attended to by the Hindi Officer would be as follows:
i)
Translation and vetting of translation both in Hindi and English and supervising
the arrangements for such translations
;ii) Ensuring the use of Hindi for
obligatory purposes as required by Official Languages Act;
iii) Implementation
of the instructions received regarding the progressive use of Hindi for various
official purposes;
iv) Effective functioning of OLICs both at the Departmental
and HO level;
v) Catering to the needs of research, reference and co-ordination
work for progressive use of Hindi in the official work by preparing reference
literature, arranging workshops, training and giving necessary help and guidance
to the officers/staff for learning Hindi and using it in the official work.
16.
Re-designation of Hindi Cells/Sections/Departments and Hindi Officers
Hindi
Cells/ Sections / Departments and Hindi Officers of the banks may be redesignated
as O.L. Cells / Sections / Departments and O.L. Officers.
17.
Submission of quarterly progress reports and other reports
a)
Region-wise quarterly reports regarding the progressive use of Hindi should be
submitted (in hard copy as well as floppy) to the Reserve Bank of India, Dept.
of Banking Operations and Development, Central Office in the computerised proforma.
However, the report pertaining to the Head Office of the bank should be sent to
the Banking Division, Ministry of Finance, Govt. of India and a copy thereof may
be endorsed to the DBOD, Central Office. The quarterly progress reports for the
quarters ending March, June, September and December should be sent within six
weeks following the quarter to which the reports relate. However, the annual report
should be submitted to the Banking Divisions, Ministry of Finance, Govt. of India
within a month after the completion of the year to which it relates.
b)
Banks should incorporate the data relating to Head/Central Office in the report
for the region in which it may be situated. Further the data, which is required
to be furnished annually, should be incorporated in the reports for January-March
quarter only.
c) Banks should exclude the letters sent in regional languages
(i.e. other than Hindi and English) from the total number of letters sent by their
offices/branches while reporting the same in Quarterly Progress Reports to be
sent to the Reserve Bank.
d) Banks should take into account the data of
correspondence as well as internal work of their computerised branches while arriving
at consolidated figures of these items, as advised vide BC.55 dated 27.11.2000.
e)Banks should indicate the number of files opened during the respective
quarter under the item regarding number of files in quarterly progress report.
18.
Official Language Implementation Committees a) i) The Official
Language implementation Committees should be set up at the Headquarters of each
bank and at its all offices/branches.
ii) The Officer-in-charge of the office/branch
should be ex-officio Chairman of the Committee. The Hindi Officer or, in his absence,
any officer nominated by the bank, should be the Member-Secretary of the Committee.
Other members of the Committee should be drawn from different departments. The
total number of the members should not be too large.
iii) The Committee
will be responsible for effective and expeditious implementation of the Government’s
Official Language Policy/ Programmes and instructions issued from time to time
in relation thereto. It should formulate time-bound programmes in phased manner
for this purpose, wherever necessary.
iv) The Committee should meet at least
once in a quarter to review:
a)the compliance with the provisions of
the Official Languages Act, 1963 as amended ;
b) progressive use of
Hindi for official purposes;
c) periodical reports;
d) progress of
in-service training in Hindi language/ typewriting and stenography; ande)
progress of Hindi translation of statutory/non-statutory documents, procedural
literature etc. A copy of the minutes (bilingual) of the meetings of the Official
Language Implementation Committee at Head Office is required to be sent to the
Central Office of DBOD as soon as they are prepared.
b) The banks should
ensure that the OLIC meetings convened by the Reserve Bank are attended by officers
at sufficiently high level/ Chairman of OLIC in respective banks, along with the
officer-in-charge of the Official Language Department/Section / Cell.
19.
Setting up of Hindi Libraries
a) To enable the staff members
to sustain and improve their knowledge of Hindi, libraries with Hindi books of
general interest may be set up.
b) Hindi newspapers and magazines should
be supplied to the officers so as to increase their interest in Hindi.
c)
The banks should ensure and confirm that the budgetary allocation made is fully
utilised for purchase of Hindi books for promotion of use of Hindi among the staff
of banks. The banks are required (as per recommendation of the Committee of Parliament
on Official language) to allocate at least 50 percent of the amount of the library
budget, excluding journals and standard reference books, for the books in Hindi.
20.
Publication of periodicals in Hindi
a) All publications/booklets
of the banks intended for the members of the public should be issued both in Hindi
and English. In case of smaller publications, the feasibility of publishing the
material in diglot form, i.e. one side in Hindi and other side in English, may
be examined. Various periodicals and ad-hoc publications may be brought out in
Hindi also. The number of copies of such publications in Hindi should not be less
than the number of copies in English.
21. Adding
of Hindi sections in House Magazines
a) Hindi sections should
be included in the house magazines published by banks. The Hindi section in the
house journals of the banks should precede the English one.
b) Banks should
ensure not only to increase the number of pages in Hindi sections in the house
journals/publications but also to ensure that they precede English sections.
c)
More and more material on banking subjects may be included and the articles etc.
should be presented in more fluid language to increase the acceptability and readership.
22.
Hindi Teaching Schemes
a) With a view to encouraging learning
of Hindi by the staff of banks, the banks may formulate their own Hindi Teaching
Schemes, depute their staff to the Hindi classes organised under the Hindi Teaching
Scheme of the Government of India or advise them to take up the correspondence
courses conducted by the Central Hindi Directorate, Ministry of Education and
Social Welfare, West Block-VII, R. K. Puram, New Delhi 110 022. Further, the banks
should make entries in the service records of the staff on their passing Prabodh,
Praveen, Pragya and other recognised Hindi examinations.
b) For overcoming
the reluctance on the part of some offices/branches of banks in deputing their
officers/employees for Hindi classes conducted under the Hindi Teaching Scheme
of the Government, banks should note that it is obligatory that eligible bank
employees are deputed for such trainings either imparted in their own bank or,
at such centres where the facility is available, conducted under the scheme of
the Government.
c) The issue as to what action could be taken against the
employees who do not take interest in acquiring knowledge of new systems, procedures,
Hindi language, etc. was discussed in the 39th Meeting of OLIC held in Delhi on
16th December 1988. The Secretary, Indian Banks’ Association (IBA), informed
the participants that IBA had taken a decision in terms of which action would
be taken by banks against the employees who did not take interest in learning
Hindi or in attending the Hindi classes, as well as taking Hindi examinations,
according to tripartite settlement. In keeping with this decision, henceforth
an employee would render himself liable for disciplinary action if he refused
to attend Hindi training or, did not evince sufficient interest in the training
for which he was deputed as it would be construed as a deliberate disregard to
the management’s lawful and proper orders. However, in genuine cases, if
even after taking sufficient interest, an employee fails to acquire proficiency
in Hindi or is not able to pass the Hindi examination, no action should be taken
against him.
d) As per the Office memorandum No. 14013/1,85 OL(D) dated
27th March 1986 of the Government of India the employees who had passed Matriculation
or an equivalent examination with Hindi as a subject from non-Hindi speaking states
but the marks secured by them in Hindi are less than 50% should not be treated
as exempted from the compulsory Hindi Teaching Scheme. The employees who had passed
Matriculation or equivalent examination with Hindi, securing less than 50% marks
in Hindi but possess knowledge of Hindi enabling them to do their official work
in Hindi, may be exempted from the compulsory Hindi Teaching Scheme if they make
a declaration, in writing in the format given in the Official Language Rules,
1976 despite the fact that they have secured less than 50% marks in Hindi in the
above mentioned examinations.
e) It has been clarified as per Ministry of
Homa Affairs, Rajbhasha Department's letter No. 21034/05/2003 R.D. (training)
dated 23-7-2003 that under the Hindi Teaching Scheme if an employee has studied
Hindi as a second, third or along with any other language as a combined subject
till matriculation level and afterwards passed the B.A. examination by taking
Hindi only as second or optional language, his knowledge of Hindi cannot be treated
as equivalent to Pragya level. Only if an employee passes B.A. examination taking
Hindi as a subject, his knowledge of Hindi will be treated as equivalent to Pragya
level. It is further clarified vide Ministry of Home Affairs, Rajbhasha Department's
letter No. 21034/9/2002-R.D. (training) dated 10.10.2005 that the level of knowledge
of Hindi of employees who have passed an examination which is at a level higher
than matriculation but lower than B.A., with Hindi as a subject from non-Hindi
speaking states/union territories will be treated as equivalent to matriculation
and it will be compulsory for them also to pass the Pragya examination and on
passing the Pragya examination they will also be given financial incentives on
completion of certain conditions as per rules.
f) The banks have been advised
to provide the working knowledge of Hindi to all the staff-members by the end
of 2015 in Regions ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’. Therefore,
those banks who have not achieved the targets so far, should expedite the process
of such training.
23. Banking training
through Hindi medium
a) The following recommendations made
by the Central OLIC in the meeting held on 11th September 1987 regarding use of
Hindi in training institutes should be made effective for the training;
(i)
Irrespective of the location of training institute, teaching material should be
in bilingual form i.e. Hindi and English.
(ii) In case of any examinations
conducted by banks, the question papers may be bilingual with option to participants
to answer either in Hindi or in English.
(iii) Where participants in
a training programme are from regions ‘A’ and ‘B’, the
training may be imparted in Hindi. But if the majority of the participants desires
to have it in English, arrangements may be made accordingly.
(iv) The training
for the trainees exclusively from region ‘C’ or for those from all
the regions may be imparted in English. But if adequate number of trainees wish
to have it in Hindi, necessary arrangements may be made to meet the demand.
(v) In the mixed group of trainees, lecturers conversant with Hindi and English
may be deputed/invited so that trainees are able to ask questions in any language
of their choice.
(vi) Arrangements may be made for running short duration
intensive Hindi training courses for those of the instructors at training institutes
who do not possess working knowledge of both Hindi and English languages.
(vii)
In the event of non-availability of qualified instructors for imparting training
in Hindi in an institute where training is required to be imparted in Hindi, as
a via-media, training may be imparted with mixture of Hindi and English.
b)
As per decision based on the discussions which the Evidence and Records Sub-Committee
of the Committee of Parliament on Official Languages had with the then Governor,
Reserve Bank and Chairmen of banks, the banks are required to make arrangements
for imparting training through Hindi medium in their training institutions.
c)
Banks may depute the officers in required number for the banking training programmes
through Hindi medium conducted by the Training Colleges of Reserve Bank of India.d)
Banks may conduct the training programmes on innovative banking through Hindi
medium.
24. Learning of Hindi Typewriting / Stenography
by Typists and Stenographers of banks
a) Based on the instructions
contained in O.M. No. E. 12033/2972-H.T. dated 12th April 1973, issued by Ministry
of Home Affairs regarding grant of lump-sum rewards for passing Hindi typewriting
/ stenography examinations and Reserve Bank’s Scheme for providing incentive
to the typists for learning Hindi typewriting, banks are required to evolve suitable
scheme for the purpose.
b) Banks are also required to take note of the decision
of IBA to the effect that they may grant lump-sum reward to their stenographers/
typists who work both in Hindi and English, as well as regional languages. Such
reward should be paid to only those employees who agree in writing to attend to
the work of stenography/typing in Hindi and/or in the regional language as the
case may be, in addition to English.
c) Banks should purchase electronic
equipments with facility/ provision for both Hindi and English.
25.
Hindi WorkshopsWith a view to imparting training in making
noting and drafting of letters, etc. in Hindi to the employees having working
knowledge of Hindi, banks should organise Hindi workshops and all the staff having
working knowledge of Hindi should be trained in Hindi workshops and the help material
should be provided to the participants. The workshops should be for at least one
day (minimum 6 hours).The workshop will be treated as conducted in the
region in which it was actually conducted.
26. Printing
of forms and translation of Codes, Manuals etc.
All forms
meant for the members of the public in their dealings with banks should be printed
bilingually, in Hindi and English, for use in the offices in Hindi speaking areas
and in Hindi, English and the respective regional language for use in the offices
in non-Hindi speaking areas. In case the forms are lengthy, they may be printed
separately in different languages.
- Banks should complete the translation
of codes, manuals, forms, rubber stamps, seals, sign boards etc. in Hindi as early
as possible and prepare a phased programme for completing the task.
- Banks
should complete the translation of codes, manuals, forms, rubber stamps, seals
, sign boards etc. in Hindi as early as possible and prepare a phased programme
for completing the task.
27. Notification
under Rule 10(4) and specifying under Rule 8(4) of the Official Language Rules,
1976
a) Banks may notify their Zonal/Regional Offices/ Branches
as one unit under Rule 10(4) of the Official Language Rules, 1976 provided 80%
staff members attached to that office have acquired the working knowledge of Hindi.
b)
All banks should forward to the Central Office, DBOD, three copies, both in Hindi
and English separately of the list of branches/offices which may be notified by
the Government under Rule 10(4) of the OLR, 1976. However, the electronic copy
should be sent in form of read only CD alongwith hard copies. Hindi version in
the CD should be unicode-based.
c) Banks should specify their offices under
Rule 8(4) and instruct the staff having proficiency in Hindi to do specified work
in Hindi. A letter to this effect has to be issued individually to such staff
/officers by the appropriate authority.
28.
Making entries in Hindi in the ledgers and registers Banks'
branches located in rural/semi urban areas in Region ‘A’ should make
a beginning for making entries in Hindi in their ledgers and registers. The banks
should make such entries in Region ‘B’ also. 29.
Inspection regarding use of Hindi
a) The points raised in the
Inspection Reports submitted by the officials of Rajbhasha Vibhag after their
inspection may be discussed by the banks in the meetings of their OLIC with a
view to considering the ways and means to rectify the discrepancies pointed out
in the Inspection Reports.b) In the case of internal inspections of bank-branches,
the inspection teams should also inter-alia, comment, in the inspection report,
upon the progress made by the branch in the use of Hindi vis-à-vis the
target fixed in the Annual Implementation Programme framed by the Government of
India.
30. Submission of reports on implementation
of Official Language Policy to the Board of Directors
Banks
should submit a report on the implementation of the Official Language Policy to
their Board of Directors at an interval of one year and forward a copy thereof
to the Central Office, DBOD, Reserve Bank of India.
31.
Capsule Course
Banks may chalk out suitable capsule courses
for the non-Hindi speaking officers being posted in Hindi speaking areas.
32.
Induction courses of the banks
Banks should prepare some
of their Induction Courses in Hindi for the beginners.
33.
Publication of balance sheets by banks bilingually
a) The amended
bilingual format of the balance sheet, as given by the Govt. of India should be
used by all banks to ensure uniformity in various terminologies used therein.
Banks should publish their balance sheets in bilingual form.
b) Banks should
use the bilingual format of Profit and Loss Accounts, as prescribed in the Banking
Regulation Act, 1949.
34. Granting of awards for books
and essays originally written in Hindi on financial, banking and economic subjectsBanks
should implement the provisions of two schemes formulated by the Govt. of India
for granting of awards for essays and books originally written in Hindi on financial
subjects.
35. Participation in meetings
of Town Official Language Implementation Committees (TOLICs)
a)
Banks should participate in the meetings of the Town Official Language Implementation
Committees. The Officer-in-Charge in the town should attend the Committee’s
meetings and when due to unavoidable circumstances it is not possible for him
to attend a meeting, he should depute the next senior-most officer. Further, when
the Officer-in-charge or in his absence, the next senior most officer attends
a meeting, Hindi Officer or officer associated with official languages work, may
accompany him. It is indicated that deputation of Hindi Officers only to such
meetings is not considered desirable.
b) In certain cities separate TOLICs
have been constituted for the banks, wherein banks should ensure their participation
as stated at (a) above.
36. Naming of
new bank subsidiaries/schemes in Hindi or other Indian languages
As advised by the Government of India (vide their letter O.M.No. 120021/4/83
O.L. (B-1) dated 24th December 1983) and reiterated in the 58th meeting of OLIC,
banks may name in Hindi or in Indian languages the new subsidiaries/schemes that
may be set up/formulated. They should also render in Hindi (or other Indian languages)
the English names of their subsidiaries/schemes in vogue.
37.
Inclusion in corporate plan
i) Banks should prepare the action
plan in respect of :
a) providing working knowledge of Hindi to the members
of staff and arranging Hindi workshops for them.
b) arranging training in
Hindi stenography and typing for stenographers and typists.
c) conducting
banking training programme through Hindi medium, and d) achieving the various
targets set by the Govt. of India.ii) They should also include the subject
pertaining to use of Hindi in the corporate plans of the banks.
38.
Use of Hindi in customer service
Hindi and other Indian languages
should be used for improving the quality of customer service.
39.
a) Providing statement of accounts to the account holders in Hindi by the computerised
branches
As decided in the 62nd meeting of OLIC of banks,
held on 28th December 1994, banks may take necessary steps to ensure that the
computerised branches provide the statements of accounts to the account holders
in Hindi also. Banks should also strive to get the banking software prepared for
doing data processing in Hindi on their computers installed in the branches.
b) Provision of bilingual software
Banks are also
required to provide the bilingual software on all personal computers and do maximum
word processing etc. work in Hindi on the PCs.
40.
Use of Hindi in the branches of Indian banks functioning in foreign countries
Banks
should use Hindi and the local language, along with English, (if it is other than
English) in the stationery items (e.g. letter heads, file covers, envelopes, seals,
stamps, nameplates, signboards, etc.) They may also write the word “Swagatam”
in Hindi on the main gate of such foreign branches
.41.
Honourable Prime Minister's directions for increasing use of Hindi in the official
work
As per the suggestions of The Honourable Prime
Minister, banks should follow the following steps to create a congenial atmosphere
for increasing the use of Hindi :
(i) Discussions be held in Hindi in the
highest administrative meetings and proceedings of such meetings in Hindi may
be encouraged.
(ii) Officers violating the provisions of Section 3(3) of
the Official Language Act and Rule 5 of the Official Language Rules should be
advised in writing to refrain from such tendencies in future.
(iii) Appreciable
work done in Hindi should be mentioned in the Confidential Reports of the concerned
staff.
(iv) Speeches should be delivered in Hindi on the occasions of national
and international importance. The members of Indian delegation to foreign countries
should also use Hindi.
(v) Commendable work done by officers/employees in
Hindi may be mentioned in their Annual Confidential Reports under column 'Communication
skill'..
42. Work in Hindi on Computers
I) Consolidated guidelines on work in Hindi on computers
As per the decision taken in the 90th meeting of OLIC held on 11th January
2002, Reserve Bank of India, DBOD, Central Office has consolidated instructions
/guidelines (vide DBOD. BC. No. 83/ 06.11.04/2001-02 dated 27th March 2002) issued
to banks from time to time on use of computers to increase the work in Hindi to
improve customer service through Hindi and other Indian languages. The guidelines
covered the following areas :
a) Use of Hindi and other Indian Languages
in Customer Service
b) Internal work on Computers
c) Computer Training
through Hindi medium
d) Necessary Infrastructure / arrangements
e) List
of 33 items of work (as per Annex 1 ) which could be done on
computers in Hindi.Banks should follow these instructions scrupulously.
II) Bilingual Data Processing Software/Core Banking Solutions
a)
As per discussion in the meeting of the Chief Executives of public sector banks
on 2nd September 1999, banks should initiate action to get a suitable Bilingual
Data Processing Software developed and installed in their branches, wherever this
is necessary from the customer's point of view. b) As decided in the 93rd
meeting held on 4th October 2002, banks should implement the following decisions
on data processing in Hindi
:i) Presently, in branches where data processing
is done through English softwares or the entire work is being done on computer
only in English (where there is TBA), interface facility may be provided for taking
out bilingual or Hindi print and whenever the software is replaced in future,
only bilingual software be installed.
ii) Bilingual software should be
installed in the branches to be computerised in future from the beginning.
iii)
As some of the banks are progressing towards Core Banking Solution (in future
other banks may also go for Core Banking Solution), it is suggested that bilingual
facility should be provided from the beginning in Core Banking Solution.
iv)
As some of the banks are adopting the option of cluster banking, i.e. connectivity
is being given (or to be given) by connecting branches through LAN, MAN or WAN,
facility of connectivity in Hindi may also be provided in such branches.
v)
The manufacturers/developers of the software used for giving bilingual print through
interface may be requested by the concerned banks to provide facility of data
entry in Devanagari (and regional languages as per requirement). Banks may take
their own decision regarding facility of third language as per their customer
service requirements.
vi) The bilingual software to be installed should
have inter-connectivity facility and compatibility with other softwares.
c)
Banks should initiate early action on the following decisions taken at the 89th
meeting of OLIC held on 9.10.2001.
(i) Computer system may be used to increase
the use of Hindi.
(ii) Bilingual data processing software for branch banking
may be installed (A reference is invited to our circular No. DBOD. BC. 90/ 06.11.04/99-
2000 dated 18th September 1999).
(iii) In order to enable the staff members
to work in Hindi on computers
(a) necessary training should be provided
to them and (b) more computer training programmes may be conducted through Hindi
medium.
(iv) Arrangements should be made to carry out various items of work
in Hindi on computers as identified in 88th meeting of OLIC held on 19th July
2001 at Thiruvanantpuram.
(v) The quarterly data on the use of Hindi in
computer in the prescribed proforma (enclosed as Annexure II to the minutes of
the 89th meeting of banks) should be furnished regularly.
(vi) Internet
facility should be provided to Rajbhasha Officers at administrative offices and
training establishments. This facility could be extended to other centres also
if the banks feel it necessary. Further, all the Rajbhasha Officers may be provided
with computers.
III) Internal standing working
group
Banks should constitute internal standing working groups
at Head Office as well as at Regional Office level to increase the use of Hindi
in computers in branches/ offices at all levels. The working group should consist
of Rajbhasha specialist, I.T. specialist as well as practical banker. The progress
may be reported to RBI at half yearly intervals.
IV)
Use of only bilingual electronic equipments
Computers etc. would be considered bilingual only
when :-
a)There are facilities for data entry in Hindi alongwith English.
(b) Any employee can use it in either English or Hindi. For this it is necessary
to have such facility in the machine so that the employee can display in either
English or Hindi on the monitor at will.
(c) The output of the system (report,
letter etc.) could be produced by the person working on the machine either in
Hindi or English at will.
43. Miscellaneous instructions
a)
Banks should have the data/information regarding use of Hindi in banks computerised
as per the pro-forma forwarded to them by the Reserve Bank so that, as and when
required, it could be retrieved.
b) Simple Hindi should be used in transacting
official business. Officers/members of the staff should freely use English technical
and designational terms in Devanagari script. For this purpose, it would be useful
if the following points are kept in mind.
i) More and more common words
should be used in official work and there need not be any hesitation in using
words that are commonly used in other languages.
ii) Wherever it is felt
that the reader may find it difficult to understand the technical or designational
terms in Hindi, it would be useful to write English version thereof within brackets.
iii)
Instead of an artificial translation, the English names which are commonly used
for modern machinery, various types of equipment and modern articles, should be
written in Devnagari script.
iv) While writing Hindi, only easy and commonly
used words should be used, avoiding highly Sanskritised words. The syntax should
be according to the nature of Hindi language. It may not be proper to load it
with difficult Sanskrit words. It should not also be a mere verbatim translation
of original English. Instead of translating the English drafts into Hindi, it
would be better if they are prepared originally in Hindi itself, keeping in view
the nature of Hindi language. This will not only make the language natural and
fluent, but also make it intelligible in spite of new and unknown words being
used in between.
v) Offices of the banks may purchase at least one copy
of the Hindi Telephone Directory as it would provide a handy glossary of Hindi
names of offices and designations of officers
c) Gift Cheques, Travellers
Cheques, Cash Certificates etc. should be printed bilingually.
d) Badges
on uniforms and name plates on cars may be displayed bilingually in Regions ‘A’
and ‘B’
e) Only International form of numerals (1,2,3,4 ….)
should be used in the application forms and other literature which are printed
in Hindi.
f) The standard forms of all numerals from 1 to 100 approved by
the working group of Ministry of Law, Justice and Company Affairs and published
by the Hindi Directorate, Ministry of Education and Culture, Government of India,
were forwarded to banks. Banks should advise all their offices and branches to
use, spellings of numerals while writing Hindi numerals in words to ensure uniformity
in writing, typing and printing thereof.
g) The Statistical Pocket Books
and other statistical material brought out by banks may be published bilingually.
In the case of bulky publications, their Hindi and English versions may be published
separately.
h) Banks should include Hindi as a subject in the courses of
their Training Institutions.
i)Banks may, with a view to encouraging
the use of Hindi, have a scheme of holding competition among the Zonal/Regional
offices and awarding a Shield to the winner. However, it is left to the individual
banks to formulate their own schemes to suit their requirements.
j)
As decided in the 28th Meeting of OLIC, banks should introduce a Trophy to be
awarded to the branch/es doing maximum work in Hindi.
k) At least one function
in a year may be organised for distribution of certificates to the employees of
the banks who pass ‘Prabodh’, ‘Praveen’ and ‘Pragya’
examinations conducted under the Hindi Teaching Scheme of the Government of India.
l)
The Hindi Transliteration of the existing telegraphic addresses are being registered
by the Post and Telegraph Department without any extra cost and, as such, banks
may get the Hindi Transliteration of their telegraphic addresses duly registered.
m)
Emphasis should be given to display hoardings for the publicity of new schemes
etc. in North-Eastern states in Hindi also.
ANNEX
1 [ Ref. paragraph No. 42.I ] List
of items of work which could be done on computers in Hindi
[Forwarded with the minutes of 88th meeting] (Consolidated
on the basis of the suggestions received from all banks)
-
Correspondence
-
Various
items of Management Information System
-
Name
boards /plates
-
Various items of Section 3
(3) of the O. L. Act
-
Training material (including
presentation in Power Point )
-
Salary slips
and salary sheets
-
Welcome letter to new account
holders
-
Letter of thanks to introducer of
new account holders
-
Entries in pass books
-
Statement of account to customers
-
Work
related to payment of various bills and allowances
-
Meeting
advices, agenda and minutes
-
All the works
relating to Establishment and Staff
-
Advices
relating to Group Insurance
-
Policy Guidelines
-
All types of publicity material
-
Periodical
reports
-
Returns
-
Branch
Banking
-
Reminder for loan recovery
-
Provident Fund and Pension details
-
Loan
sanction advices
-
Banker cheques and drafts
-
Payment orders/ deposit orders
-
Fixed Deposit Receipts
-
Deposit
maturity advices
-
Preparation of cheque list
-
All written works regarding branch officers
meeting with customers
-
Demand drafts
-
Memo of cheque returns
-
More
and more material in Hindi on websites
-
E-mail
messaging in Hindi (Devanagari) on Internet and through corporate
e-mail
-
Credit processing notes
*
The term Central Government Offices in this master circular also covers the offices
of the Public Sector Banks. **
For the purpose of Official Language Policy, the various States/Union Territories
have been classified into three Regions as Under :
Region ‘A’
The
States of Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Uttar
Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh and the Union Territories of Delhi
and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Region
‘B’
The States of Maharashtra,
Gujarat and Punjab and the Union Territory of Chandigarh.
Region ‘C’
All other remaining States and Union Territories. * The term General Order
includes :
- all orders, decisions or instructions intended for departmental
use and which are of standing nature.
- all orders, instructions, letters,
memoranda, notices etc.
- relating to or intended for group of individuals
whether in Government service or members of public,
- relating to an individual
and copies of which are forwarded to several authorities, and
- all circulars
whether intended for departmental use or for members of staff or members of public.
[Extract from Government of India Letter No. E. 11015/(I) Hindi-72 dated 3.3.1972]
ANNEX 2
List of Circulars regarding use of Hindi
1 |
DBOD.Rabha .1722/C.486/53-91 |
29.06.1991 |
2 |
DBOD.Rabha .240/C.486/53-91 |
24.10.1991 |
3 |
DBOD.Rabha.BC 65/C.486/53-91 |
27.12.1991 |
4 |
DBOD.BC.122/06.02.06/92 |
23.04.1992 |
5 |
DBOD.Rabha 1/06.02.01/92 |
01.07.1992 |
6 |
DBOD.BC.No. 27/06.02.01/94 |
08.03.1994 |
7 |
DBOD.BC.No. 286/06.02.01/95 |
30.01.1995 |
8 |
DBOD.BC.No. 51/06.02.01/98 |
02.06.1998 |
9 |
DBOD.No.06/06.02.01/98 |
04.07.1998 |
10 |
DBOD.BC.No. 60/06.11.04/98-99 |
08.06.1999 |
11 |
DBOD.BC.No. 68/06.11.04/98-99 |
07.07.1999 |
12 |
DBOD.No.38/06.11.04/99-2000 |
26.07.1999 |
13 |
DBOD.No.51/06.03.05/99-2000 |
03.08.1999 |
14 |
DBOD.BC.No. 90/06.11.04/99-2000 |
18.09.1999 |
15 |
DBOD.No.94/06.07.03/99-2000 |
30.09.1999 |
16 |
DBOD.BC.No. 01/06.11.04/99-2000 |
06.01.2000 |
17 |
DBOD.No.747/06.11.04/99-2000 |
29.02.2000 |
18 |
DBOD.BC.No. 146/06.11.04/99-2000 |
08.03.2000 |
19 |
DBOD.BC.No. 162/06.11.04/99-2000 |
03.04.2000 |
20 |
DBOD.BC.No. 185/06.11.04/99-2000 |
21.06.2000 |
21 |
DBOD.BC.No.10/06.11.04/2000-2001 |
25.07.2000 |
22 |
DBOD.No.155/06.02.01/2000-2001 |
08.09.2000 |
23 |
DBOD.No.160/06.11.04/2000-2001 |
12.09.2000 |
24 |
DBOD.BC.No. 55/06.11.04/2000-2001 |
27.11.2000 |
25 |
DBOD.BC.No. 89/06.11.04/2000-2001 |
15.03.2001 |
26 |
DBOD.BC.No. 40/06.11.04/2001-2002 |
31.10.2001 |
27 |
DBOD.No.257/06.11.04/2001-2002 |
10.12.2001 |
28 |
DBOD.No.308/06.02.01/2001-2002 |
18.01.2002 |
29 |
DBOD.No.83/06.11.04/2001-2002 |
27.03.2002 |
30 |
DBOD.BC.No. 16/06.11.04/2002-2003 |
09.08.2002 |
31 |
DBOD.BC.No. 49/06.11.04/2002-2003 |
13.12.2002 |
32 |
DBOD.BC.No. 77/06.11.04/2002-2003 |
05.03.2003 |
33 |
DBOD.No.610/06.02.01/2002-2003 |
12.04.2003 |
34 |
DBOD.No.14/06.02.10/2003-2004 |
16.07.2003 |
35 |
DBOD.No.121/06.02.01/2003-2004 |
30.09.2003 |
36 |
DBOD.No.250/06.11.04/2003-2004 |
30.12.2003 |
37 |
DBOD.No.344/06.02.01/2004-2005 |
05.04.2005 |
38 |
DBOD.No.375/06.02.01/2004-2005 |
06.05.2005 |
|