More than 53,000 people, half of them women, have been trained in spoken Sanskrit as part of a special scheme to promote the language in Uttar Pradesh, the state government said on Thursday.

On February 7, 2018, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had announced during a programme at the Uttar Pradesh Sanskrit Sansthan that students in every school across the state should be seen speaking basic Sanskrit.

In line with this vision, several plans were launched to promote spoken Sanskrit, and their impact is now visible, the government said in a statement.

"The 'Missed Call Yojana' played a key role in making Sanskrit more accessible to the public. So far, over 1.21 lakh people have registered under the scheme, and more than 53,000 people have received direct training in spoken Sanskrit. Remarkably, around 50 per cent of the participants are women, showing the growing popularity of the initiative across all sections of the society. People from not just Uttar Pradesh, but also from other states have joined this campaign," the government said.

The government's 'Missed Call Yojana' and various innovations have proven that with strong will power and the right policies, any language can be revived, it said.

Under this scheme, participants received 20 days of one-hour daily sessions using PowerPoint presentations to practice speaking in Sanskrit, it added.

On the 10th day, special inspirational sessions were held on the importance of Sanskrit, and 523 such sessions have been conducted so far, the government said.

In the final stage of training, an internship programme was organised where participants were involved in creating videos related to reading and promoting Sanskrit, it said.

Currently, through the "Grihe-Grihe Sanskritam" (Sanskrit at every home) initiative, Sanskrit is being continuously taught and practised with school students, their families, and the community, it stated.

Dr Vachaspati Mishra, former president of the Uttar Pradesh Sanskrit Sansthan, said the efforts, inspired by the chief minister's address, have shown encouraging results in promoting spoken Sanskrit.

"Awareness about Sanskrit is increasing, and many people want to learn the language. The results suggest that the entire state is eager to learn Sanskrit. We are hopeful that in the coming years, lakhs of people will become part of the spoken Sanskrit movement," Mishra said.

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