‘Government-Microsoft talks on to promote digital Tamil’

Speaking at the inaugural session of the 17th World Tamil Internet Conference at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) in Coimbatore on Friday, he said the move will give a global recognition to those who use Tamil digitally.

To promote the use of internet in education, Udhayachandran said the new books for Classes 1, 6, 9 and 11 have been brought out with QR codes.

“Online education has been introduced in the new syllabus and it will be a driving force in the development of Tamil language in the next century. More than 2,000 QR codes have been used in the new syllabus for the benefit of two lakh students. This conference will sow the seeds for a second online revolution,” he said.

In his address, Padma Shri awardee and former chairman of Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur M Anandakrishnan said Tamil language has grown with its usage in new media like Twitter and Facebook.

“At least 20 per cent of the 5,000-6,000 research papers published in Tamil Nadu should be translated in Tamil for the growth of the language. Students should also come forward to do research and publish papers in Tamil. In future, development of Tamil language will be more associated with its usage in online medium,” he said.

Stating that the global Tamil community has been striving to popularise Tamil online since the 1980s, Anandakrishnan said there are brighter prospects for students learning through their mother tongue as many technology giants believe them to be talented.

Vice-Chancellor of TNAU K Ramasamy, Joint Correspondent of Kumaraguru College of Technology Shankar Vanavarayar were among those who spoke at the event, which saw the participation of several Tamil scholars.