The Kannada Language Comprehensive Development (Amendment) Bill, 2024, was tabled in the State Legislative Assembly on Tuesday, making it mandatory for all business establishments in the State to display name boards with 60% of text in Kannada in the upper half of the boards.
The Bill makes a provision that the name boards of commercial, industrial and business undertakings, trusts, counselling centres, hospitals, laboratories, amusement centres, hotels, etc. should be 60% in Kannada.
The Bill said, “It is necessary to amend Kannada Basha Samagra Abhivruddhi Adhiniyama, 2022, to appoint the director, Directorate of Kannada and Culture, as the member and the secretary of Kannada Development Authority to be the convener of the State-level committee and to make a provision that name boards should display 60% in Kannada.”
The Bill makes display of 60% Kannada language in boards of State government departments, PSUs, cooperative and public undertakings, educational institutions, banks and other financial institutions, private industries, universities. It said display of officers’ designations should also be primarily in Kannada.
It said all tender notifications, advertisements, application forms, digital forms, certificates and notifications issued by the government or local authorities for publication in the State should be in Kannada. The pamphlets, banners, flex, electronic display boards, informations, notices, and other programmes conducted by the government, local authorities, aided and un-aided institutions should be in Kannada.
Kannada outfits such Karnataka Rakshana Vedike (KRV) have launched an aggressive campaign to promote the use of Kannada in name boards and had earlier removed English name boards from several shops in Bengaluru and other parts of Karnataka. Following the protest, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) started identifying establishments that do not display Kannada name boards, and sent them notices.
