‘Centre looking for alternative to English’

SHILLONG: Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Ram Vilas Paswan on Monday said the Government was looking for an alternative to English in the country under the Official Language Act.
Speaking to media persons here on Monday after holding the Hindi Salahkar Samiti Baithak, Paswan said as per the Act, Meghalaya and other states like Tamil Nadu fall under Category C.
The Minister said as per Section 3 (3) of the Official Language Act, any document must be in both English and Hindi.
Reacting to a query on whether the Government wants the notifications, rules and laws to be written in Hindi, he said such practice was not binding on Category C states but all the central government offices must follow the Act.
When asked why nothing is being done to promote Hindi in Meghalaya, the Minister said the Government at the moment was not pressing hard for learning of Hindi but it wanted an alternative to English.