Now, learn Kannada online on govt website

Those residing in Karnataka but unfamiliar with Kannada can now log on to the state government's e-Kannada portal to take online lessons.

Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Tuesday launched the e-Kannada programme, as part of which online Kannada lessons in print, audio and video format are available on ekannada.karnataka.gov.in

These lessons start from the basics such as greetings in Kannada and provide the learner lessons in basic Kannada vocabulary and sentences.

The lessons also contain practice exercises in the end. The lessons are free and are designed for self-learning.

On the occasion, Bommai said the government will issue an order making it mandatory for all administrative software to have Kannada as the basic template.

Not restricted to Kannada lessons, e-Kannada is a larger programme that emphasises the use of Kannada in administration.

For instance, henceforth, the email addresses of all ministers will be available in Kannada.

On Tuesday, the Kannada email addresses of Bommai and Kannada Development Authority chairperson T S Nagabharana were launched.

"The idea is to get all ministers to adopt this eventually," Nagabharana told DH.

The portal also contains several other features meant to emphasise Kannada in administration.

One such feature is 'Pada Kanaja,' where as many as 59 dictionaries have been digitised. About 6 lakh Kannada words have been made available in this.

This is expected to be useful for administrative purposes as any government official can access Kannada synonyms for various words here.

Sources in the e-governance department said, "Sometimes, officials make use of wrong words in a particular context. Pada Kanaja will aid officials to get the right word for the context."

There is also 'Digital Jagali,' where the public can launch a discussion and leave feedback on various government initiatives, sources added.