The President Mr. Pranab Mukherjee today said that the development programmes of the government can only be implemented effectively through the use of Hindi and other regional languages.

After conferring 55 awards in various categories for excellence in different fields pertaining to Hindi on the occasion of Hindi Diwas at a function at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi this morning, he said that the language has played a pivotal role in the successful implementation of flagship programmes of the government like Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Pradhanmantri Grameen Sadak Yojana and Rashtriya Swasthya Mission.

Mr. Mukherjee noted that Hindi is also contributing significantly in business arena as foreign companies have adopted Hindi and other regional languages for augmenting their business in the country.

Wishing all success to the 9th Hindi World conference at Johanessburg in South Africa, Mr. Mukherjee expressed hope that the event will help Hindi in establishing itself as an international language. He said that Hindi is being taught in 150 Universities across the world. Hindi has also been recognised as one of the seven heritage languages of UNESCO.

He said that given the importance of the language, several international television channels have begun their telecast in Hindi and other Indian languages.

The Minister of Home Affairs, Sushil Kumar Shinde who presided over the function, said that several softwares have been prepared with the help of Information and Communication Technology to encourage the use of Hindi.

Our Correspondent reports, Hindi Diwas is being observed across the country today to commemorate the historic occasion, as Hindi was adopted as the official language of Constituent Assembly on this very day in 1949. It was on this day when the Constitution makers of the country decided to accord the status of Official Language of the Union to Hindi.

To commemorate the historic occasion, Hindi Diwas is observed every year on this day.