Q. With respect to the Committee of Parliament on Official Language, consider the following statements:
- It submits its report to the Parliament.
- It is constituted by the Home Ministry.
- It was set up under Section 4 of The Official Languages Act, 1963.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer:
Only 2 & 3
Notes:
- Unlike the other Parliamentary panels, the Committee of Parliament on Official Language is constituted by the Home Ministry
- It does not, like the Committees of Parliament, submit its report to Parliament. Under the provisions of the 1963 Act, the panel submits its report to the President, who “shall [then] cause the report to be laid before each House of Parliament, and sent to all the State Governments”.
- The Committee of Parliament on Official Language was set up in 1976 under Section 4 of The Official Languages Act, 1963.
- Section 4 of the Act says “there shall be constituted a Committee on Official language, on a resolution to that effect being moved in either House of Parliament with the previous sanction of the President and passed by both Houses”.
- The Committee is chaired by the Union Home Minister, and has, in accordance with the provisions of the 1963 Act, 30 members — 20 MPs from Lok Sabha and 10 MPs from Rajya Sabha.
- The mandate of the Committee is to review the progress made in the use of Hindi for official purposes, and to make recommendations to increase the use of Hindi in official communications.
- The first Report of the Committee was submitted in 1987.