AICTE launches 2nd edition of VAANI scheme to promote Indian languages

NEW DELHI: The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has launched the second edition of AICTE-VAANI (Vibrant Advocacy for Advancement and Nurturing of Indian Languages) scheme to promote Indian languages in technical education.

Unveiling the scheme, TG Sitharam, chairman of AICTE, announced that 200 conferences would be supported in 2025 and each conference would receive Rs 2 lakh in financial support, amounting to Rs 4 crore annually. “The number of regional languages for the conference has expanded from 12 to 22, and the thrust areas for discussions have increased to 16 fields,” the council said in an official statement.

Abhay Jere, vice chairman, AICTE, emphasised the importance of regional languages in education and stressed that critical thinking and problem-solving should be the primary focus. “There should be a comprehensive repository of all conferences for future reference and research purposes,” he added.

The council has also announced that the online applications for AICTE-approved institutions will start from March 25. The institutions will be able to apply till April 24, through the official website at aicte-india.org/atal.

The participating institutions will be selected on the basis of AICTE’s criteria, ensuring quality and relevance in organising conferences, seminars, or workshops, it said.

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AICTE-VAANI 2025: Important takeaways

The council has made several important announcements as part of the launched scheme.

• Financial Support: Around 200 conferences will receive Rs 2 lakh each as financial assistance, which is Rs 4 crore annually.
• Event Duration: The duration of the events should be 2 to 3 days.
• Languages: Expanded to 22 regional languages including Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santhali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu.
• Focus Areas: Around 16 emerging fields in technical education will be focused on, which includes Quantum Technology, Hydrogen Energy, Space and Defense, AI & Data Science, Agrotech & Food Processing, Cybersecurity, and more.

In February, the AICTE launched 500 offline ATAL Faculty Development Programmes (FPDs) to benefit faculty members by boosting their knowledge and skills.