Ministry of Education Approves Five Centres of Excellence for Studies in Classical Languages

1. At a Glance

• On 3 October 2026, the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education (MoE) approved five Centres of Excellence (CoEs). They are for Classical Assamese, Bengali, Marathi, Pali and Prakrit [1].
• These are the five languages that received Classical Language status on 3 October 2024. That decision took the total to 11 [2][3].
• Each CoE sits inside an existing Higher Educational Institution (HEI) in one of five States [1]. The earlier CoEs for Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam and Odia were set up under CIIL, Mysuru [3].
• The topic links GS-I (culture and languages), GS-II (education policy and institutions) and Prelims static facts: dates, criteria and the place of each centre.

2. Why in the News

• 3 Oct 2026: the MoE's Department of Higher Education approved the five CoEs. Their work is research, preservation, digitisation and spreading knowledge of the five languages [1].
• The approval came exactly two years after the Union Cabinet decision of 3 Oct 2024 that gave these five languages Classical status [2][3].

3. Background & Evolution

• 2004: the Government created a new category called "Classical Languages". The first antiquity test was early texts or recorded history over 1,000 years old [4].
• 12 Oct 2004: Tamil became the first Classical Language [4].
• Nov 2005: the criteria were revised and the antiquity test rose to 1,500–2,000 years. Sanskrit was declared Classical on 25 Nov 2005 [4].
• 31 Oct 2008: Telugu and Kannada were added [4].
• 8 Aug 2013: Malayalam was added [4].
• 1 Mar 2014: Odia was added [4].
• 25 Jul 2024: the Linguistic Experts Committee revised the criteria [2].
• 3 Oct 2024: the Cabinet added Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Assamese and Bengali, making 11 Classical Languages [2][3].
• 2020: Parliament passed an Act creating three Central Sanskrit Universities:
• Central Sanskrit University, New Delhi
• Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri National Sanskrit University, New Delhi

• National Sanskrit University, Tirupati [3]

• Earlier institutions:

• Central Institute of Classical Tamil (CICT), Chennai [3]
• CoEs for Classical Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam and Odia under CIIL, Mysuru [3]

4. Core Static Facts

The five new CoEs (Oct 2026) [1]

Classical Language	Host HEI	State
Assamese	Tezpur University	Assam
Bengali	Visva-Bharati University	West Bengal
Marathi	Deccan College Post-Graduate & Research Institute (Deemed to be University), Pune	Maharashtra
Pali	Central University of Odisha	Odisha
Prakrit	Central University of Gujarat	Gujarat

What the new CoEs will focus on [1]

1. Academic research and scholarship
2. Preservation and digitisation of language and literary material
3. Wider spread of each language's heritage
4. Stronger regional academic ecosystems

Current criteria (revised 2024) [2][3]

• Early texts or recorded history that are 1,500–2,000 years old.
• A body of ancient literature that generations of speakers treat as heritage.
• Knowledge texts, especially prose, in addition to poetry, epigraphy and inscriptions.
• The classical language may be distinct from, or discontinuous with, its current form.

Who does what

• Criteria are framed through the Ministry of Culture, with linguistic and historical experts [3].
• Language promotion runs through the Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL), part of the Language Bureau of the MoE [3].
• The new CoEs were approved by the MoE's Department of Higher Education [1].

The earlier CoEs under CIIL [3]

Centre	Location
CESCT (Telugu)	Venkatachalam, SPSR Nellore, Andhra Pradesh
CESCK (Kannada)	University of Mysuru campus
CESCO (Odia)	Eastern Regional Language Centre, Bhubaneswar
CESCM (Malayalam)	Thunchath Ezhuthachan Malayalam University, Tirur, Malappuram, Kerala

Total: 11 Classical Languages. Six were recognised in 2004–2014 and five in 2024 [3].

5. Multi-Dimensional Analysis

Historical / Cultural

• Pali was the language of the Buddhist canon, the Tipitaka. Its three parts are the Vinaya, Sutta and Abhidhamma Pitakas [3].
• Prakrit was used by Buddha and Mahavira for sermons. The pre-Mauryan, Ashokan and Kharavela inscriptions are mainly in Prakrit [3].
• Marathi: its earliest known literary work is the Gathasaptasati, attributed to the Satavahana king Hala (around the 1st century CE). The Naneghat inscription shows the language in use more than 2,500 years ago [3].
• Assamese and Bengali both descend from Magadhi Apabhramsa, and the Charyapadas (8th–12th century) are their earliest samples. There are 47 Charyapada hymns, by Siddhacharyas such as Luipa, Bhusukupa, Kahnapa and Savarpa [3].

Administrative / Institutional

• Change of model: the earlier CoEs were run under CIIL [3]. The 2026 CoEs are placed in existing universities and deemed universities [1]. This uses faculty, libraries and doctoral programmes that already exist.
• Location question: the Pali CoE is in Odisha and the Prakrit CoE is in Gujarat [1]. Yet the Cabinet note listed Bihar, UP and MP as the main States for Pali and Prakrit [2]. Aspirants can use this as a point for analysis.
• Federalism angle: placing the centres in five States aims to strengthen regional research ecosystems [1].

Economic

• The Cabinet expected jobs in academia and research. Preservation, documentation and digitisation work could also create jobs in archiving, translation, publishing and digital media [2].

Scientific / Technological

• The CoEs will digitise manuscripts and texts [1]. Earlier centres also digitised manuscripts with State Museums and Archives, and made audio-visual records [3].
• CICT has translated the Tirukkural into 28 Indian and over 30 world languages, and into Braille [3]. This is a template the new CoEs could follow.

Geopolitical / Soft Power

• Pali is still studied in Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Japan, Korea, Tibet, China and Mongolia [3]. A Pali CoE therefore supports India's Buddhist diplomacy.

Governance / Policy

• Two ministries are involved: the Ministry of Culture handles criteria and status, while the MoE (CIIL and HEIs) handles promotion [1][3]. This needs coordination.
• The PIB release gives no budget, staffing or deadlines [1]. Accountability metrics are therefore still unclear.

6. Recent Developments (last 12–18 months)

• 27 Oct 2025: PIB issued a backgrounder, "Classical Languages of India – Preserving India's Linguistic Heritage". It confirmed 11 Classical Languages [3].
• Jan 2026: Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan released 55 literary works [5]:
• 41 books from the CIIL CoEs for classical languages

• 13 books and a Tirukkural Sign Language series from CICT

• 3 Oct 2026: the MoE approved the five new CoEs for the 2024 group of languages [1].

7. Prelims Hooks

• The five CoEs were approved by the Department of Higher Education, MoE, on 3 Oct 2026 [1].
• The Classical Assamese CoE is at Tezpur University [1].
• The Classical Bengali CoE is at Visva-Bharati University [1].
• The Classical Marathi CoE is at Deccan College PG & Research Institute, Pune, a deemed university [1].
• The Classical Pali CoE is at the Central University of Odisha, not in Bihar [1].
• The Classical Prakrit CoE is at the Central University of Gujarat [1].
• Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Assamese and Bengali became Classical on 3 Oct 2024, making 11 in total [2][3].
• Tamil was the first Classical Language, on 12 Oct 2004. Odia was the last before 2024, on 1 Mar 2014 [4].
• The Linguistic Experts Committee revised the criteria on 25 Jul 2024. The required antiquity is 1,500–2,000 years [2].
• Under the 2024 criteria, the classical form may be discontinuous with its modern offshoots [2][3].
• The CESCT (Telugu) works from Venkatachalam, Nellore. The CESCM (Malayalam) is at Thunchath Ezhuthachan Malayalam University, Tirur [3].
• CIIL, Mysuru is part of the Language Bureau of the MoE [3].
• Three Central Sanskrit Universities were created by an Act of Parliament in 2020 [3].
• Gathasaptasati, compiled under the Satavahana king Hala, is the earliest known Marathi literary work [3].

8. Status Comes Quickly; Working Centres Take Years

• The older centres show the gap between status and real support
• Telugu and Kannada became Classical in 2008 [4].
• In a Rajya Sabha debate in February 2021, a member said these centres still had no autonomy (freedom to run their own staff, money and programmes) [8].

• So for more than 12 years, they worked as sub-units of CIIL, Mysuru, not as independent bodies.

• Odia waited even longer for a centre

• Odia became Classical in 2014 [4].
• In the same 2021 debate, a member said Odia still had no dedicated Centre of Excellence and no dedicated budget [8].

• A centre (CESCO, Bhubaneswar) exists today [3]. But it came years after the status itself.

• The 2026 approval avoids part of this delay, but not all of it

• The five new CoEs were approved two years after status. That is faster than in earlier rounds [1][2].
• But the PIB release gives no money, no staff numbers and no deadlines [1].
• The earlier centres show the risk: a centre with no fixed budget can exist on paper and still do very little.

9. What Moving the Centres Into Universities Gains and Risks

• The gain: the centres start with ready-made capacity
• Each host already has teachers, libraries and PhD students [1].

• A CIIL-run centre had to build all of this from scratch.

• Risk 1: the centre becomes just one more department

• A CoE inside a university has to compete with every other department for rooms, posts and the Vice-Chancellor's attention.

• Nothing in the release ring-fences its money, meaning money that the host university cannot move to other uses [1].

• Risk 2: there is no legal backing

• Sanskrit has three Central Sanskrit Universities, created by an Act of Parliament in 2020 [3]. A statute (a law passed by Parliament) is hard to wind down.
• Tamil has its own separate institute, CICT, Chennai [3].

• The new CoEs exist only through a ministry approval [1]. A later order can shrink them just as easily.

• Risk 3: two ministries share the job, but neither owns the result

• The Ministry of Culture decides which languages get status. The MoE pays for and runs the promotion work [3][6].
• So no single ministry is answerable when a centre produces nothing.

10. Eleven Classical Languages, Very Unequal Support

• Three levels of support now exist under one label
• Sanskrit: three central universities created by law [3].
• Tamil: one separate national institute, CICT [3].
• Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, Odia: centres under CIIL [3].

• Assamese, Bengali, Marathi, Pali, Prakrit: centres inside host universities [1].

• Why this matters

• On paper, the benefits are the same for every classical language: national awards, Centres of Excellence and professional chairs (permanent senior teaching posts) in central universities [7].
• In practice, the size and permanence of the institution decide how much research, translation and teaching actually happens.

• The MoE gives funds to each classical language separately, and reports the language-wise figures to Parliament [6]. A Mains answer can use these replies to show the difference in spending.

• The output gap is visible

• CICT alone has translated the Tirukkural into 28 Indian and over 30 world languages, and into Braille [3].
• All four CIIL centres together produced 41 books in the January 2026 release [5].

11. Why Pali and Prakrit Need a Different Yardstick

• No living speakers to carry the language forward
• Marathi, Bengali and Assamese are spoken by millions today. Pali and Prakrit survive mainly in texts and inscriptions [3].

• So success cannot be measured by the number of speakers or students. It has to be measured by scholarly output: texts edited, inscriptions read, manuscripts digitised.

• The pool of experts is very small

• Reading Ashokan or Kharavela inscriptions needs trained epigraphists (experts who read old inscriptions on stone and metal) [3].

• A new centre cannot hire people who do not exist. It must train them first, which takes years.

• The Cabinet's job promise fits these two languages less well

• The Cabinet expected jobs in research, archiving, translation and publishing [2].

• For a language with no everyday readers, these jobs stay inside a small academic circle.

• The diplomacy value is real, but other countries must take part

• Pali is studied in Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Japan and other countries [3].
• That benefit comes only if the Odisha centre works with those countries' scholars and institutions. Funding a centre at home is not enough.

12. What the Ministries Should Do Next

• MoE: publish a budget and targets for each CoE
• The approval has no money, staffing or deadline attached [1].
• The MoE already reports language-wise funds to Parliament [6]. It should add a yearly output report for each centre: texts edited, manuscripts digitised, PhDs produced.

• The January 2026 release of 55 books [5] shows that output can be counted. The new centres should be held to similar numbers.

• MoE: give the centres secure, multi-year money

• Without fixed funding, the older centres went years without autonomy or a budget of their own [8].

• A five-year grant that the host university cannot move to other uses would stop the new CoEs repeating this.

• Parliament: consider giving the centres legal backing over time

• The Central Sanskrit Universities Act, 2020 shows that Parliament can give a classical language a lasting home [3].

• CIIL itself was once proposed for conversion into a Bharatiya Bhasha Vishwavidyalaya (a university for Indian languages) [8]. A similar step could bring all classical-language centres under one law.

• Ministry of Culture and MoE: review the centres together

• Status is given by one ministry and promotion is run by another [3].
• A joint yearly review would make one body answerable for whether status leads to real work.

13. Anchors for Answers

• Data: 11 Classical Languages; 41 books from the four CIIL CoEs and 13 from CICT were released in Jan 2026, which gives a starting point for measuring output [5]
• Data: Tirukkural translated by CICT into 28 Indian and 30+ world languages and into Braille, a benchmark for what a well-built centre can produce [3]
• Report/Committee: Linguistic Experts Committee, 25 Jul 2024: revised criteria that allow a classical form to differ from the modern language [2]
• Report/Committee: Rajya Sabha debate, 11 Feb 2021: members said the 2008 classical-language centres had no autonomy, and Odia had no dedicated CoE or budget [8]
• Law/Case: Central Sanskrit Universities Act, 2020: the only classical-language support backed by a statute [3]; the Eighth Schedule (Arts. 344, 351) is a separate list from Classical status
• Scheme: Benefits package for classical languages: national awards, Centres of Excellence and professional chairs in central universities [7]

14. Mains Relevance

• GS-I: Indian culture, including the main features of literature from ancient to modern times.
• GS-II: government policies in education, and the role of statutory and academic bodies.
• (Essay / GS-IV): heritage and identity, and "Virasat bhi, Vikas bhi".

Sample question stems

1. "Conferring Classical Language status is symbolic unless backed by institutional capacity." Discuss in light of the 2026 Centres of Excellence. (GS-II, 15 marks)
2. Trace the contribution of Pali and Prakrit to India's literary and epigraphic heritage. How can their revival serve India's cultural diplomacy? (GS-I, 15 marks)
3. Critically examine the shift from CIIL-run centres to university-hosted Centres of Excellence for promoting classical languages. (GS-II, 10 marks)

15. Related Topics to Study Next

• Eighth Schedule (Arts. 343–351): separate from Classical status. Pali and Prakrit are classical but not scheduled languages.
• NEP 2020 and Bharatiya Bhasha promotion: the policy framework for mother-tongue and classical-language education.
• CIIL and the Language Bureau of the MoE: the parent setup for the earlier CoEs.
• National Manuscripts Mission / Gyan Bharatam: overlaps with the digitisation mandate.
• Ashokan and Kharavela (Hathigumpha) inscriptions: the Prakrit epigraphic evidence.
• Charyapada and the Buddhist Siddhacharyas: the shared root of Assamese, Bengali and Odia.
• Buddhist circuit and Buddhist diplomacy: Pali as a soft-power tool.
• Central Sanskrit Universities Act, 2020: the earlier institutional model for a classical language.

16. NCERT Concepts to Revise

• Classical language (Geography): This is the core status the article turns on: eleven languages, criteria and the 2024 additions.
• Eighth Schedule (Polity): A separate list from Classical status; Pali and Prakrit are classical but not scheduled, a common exam trap.
• Pali (History): One of the five new CoE languages, the language of the Buddhist canon and tied to Buddhist diplomacy.
• Prakrit (History): Another CoE language; Ashokan and Kharavela inscriptions are mainly in Prakrit, which links to heritage questions.
• Tipitaka (History): The Pali canon explains why Pali matters culturally and why Buddhist countries still study it.
• Epigraphy (History): Pali and Prakrit survive mainly in inscriptions, so reading them needs epigraphists, a key point in the note.

17. Common Errors / Trap Areas

• Mixing up the two ministries: the Ministry of Culture frames criteria and status. The MoE (CIIL and Department of Higher Education) runs the CoEs and promotion [1][3].
• Wrong States: Pali is in Odisha and Prakrit is in Gujarat [1]. Many will assume Bihar or UP because of the Cabinet's list of main States [2].
• Antiquity threshold: 2004 used 1,000 years. Revisions in 2005 and later use 1,500–2,000 years [4][2].
• Classical status vs the Eighth Schedule: these are separate lists. Pali and Prakrit are classical languages but not Eighth Schedule languages.
• Order of recognition: Sanskrit came after Tamil, in 2005. Telugu and Kannada came together in 2008. Odia came in 2014, not 2013 [4].