Lok Sabha Question No. 3928 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-08-18
Subject: Use of Sign Languages
Ministry: EDUCATION
Asked by: Shri Shafi Parambil

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION & LITERACY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.3928

ANSWERED ON 18.08.2025

## Use of Sign Languages

3928. Shri Shafi Parambil:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

- (a) the details of list of institutions having Indian Sign Language as a subject, State/UT-wise;
- (b) the  number  of  teachers  trained  in  teaching  Indian  Sign  Language  in  these  educational institutions, State/UT-wise; and
- (c) the total fund allocated by the Government to support the popularisation of Indian Sign Language teaching in schools including training to teachers?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (SHRI JAYANT CHAUDHARY)

(a) & (b)  The Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI) has granted approval to 37 Institutions to conduct Diploma in Teaching Indian Sign Language (DTISL) & Diploma in Indian Sign Language Interpretation (DISLI) course in the country. RCI has registered 449 qualified personnel in the Central  Rehabilitation  Register  (CRR)  maintained  by  RCI.  The  State/UT-wise  details  of  37 institutions approved by RCI and number of qualified personnel in CRR is at Annexure-I and Annexure-II respectively.

(c)  The  National  Education  Policy  (NEP)  2020  places  strong  emphasis  on  the  promotion  and standardization of Indian Sign Language (ISL) across the country. In alignment with this vision, the government is actively working to make education more inclusive for students with hearing impairments. One significant step in this direction is the launch of a dedicated 24x7 DTH channel (Channel No. 31) under the PM e-Vidya initiative in December 2024, which telecasts educational content in ISL to support accessible learning. The Channel, also available on You Tube, can be accessed at the linkhttps://youtube.com/@pmev31-u9c?si=HRhxbtFLfLRIsman. A 5-day Basic course in Indian Sign Language developed by NCERT to teach fundamental skills, enable broader awareness  of  ISL  and  integration  of  sign  language  was  telecasted  on  ISL  channel  No.  31  in February, 2025 and was attended by 21,648 participants.

To further strengthen inclusive education, an amount of Rs. 23.42 crore has been approved by the Project Approval Board (PAB) under Samagra Shiksha for FY 2025-26 to various States/UTs for a  five-day  capacity-building  programme  targeting  93,345  general  teachers.  This  initiative, conducted under the National Initiative for School Heads' and Teachers' Holistic Advancement (NISHTHA), aims to sensitize and train educators to effectively address the diverse learning needs of children with special needs. Each day of the programme concludes with short modules on Braille and  Sign  Language,  enabling  participants  to  acquire  basic  Braille  literacy  and  everyday  ISL vocabulary. Additionally, Rs. 16.95 crore has been approved by the PAB under Samagra Shiksha to various States/UTs for in-service training of 58,735 Resource Persons and Special Educators during 2025-26.

Besides the above, NCERT has converted its textbooks related to curricular content for classes I to VII into ISL. Glossary words in psychology, history, geography, urdu, economics have also been produced in ISL and are being disseminated through DIKSHA portal and PM eVidya DTH TV Channels, on regular basis to ensure access to these e-Contents. A 10,500 words ISL dictionary has been uploaded on DIKSHA in collaboration with ISLRTC.

To promote and support inclusive education for all, National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) has been working with the philosophy of reaching the unreached and pursuing various proactive measures.  NIOS  has  developed  learning  materials  such  as  Talking  Books  for  learners  with blindness  and  low  vision,  a  subject-specific  terminological  dictionary  in  ISL,  and  learning materials in video format in ISL for deaf and hard of hearing learners. These are available on YouTube channel of NIOS and Gyanamrit. NIOS is the first board in the country to offer ISL as a language subject to deaf learners at secondary level to enable easy knowledge acquisition and comprehension.

Separately, Indian Sign Language Research and Training Centre (ISLRTC), an autonomous body under the Department for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD), promotes ISL through  various  activities  including,  conducting  Diploma  courses  and  Short-Term  Training Programmes, organizing workshops and webinars. An amount of Rs. 15.55 Lakh under National Fund  has  been  approved  to  ISLRTC  for  development  of  ISL Textbooks  as  a  subject  at Foundational Stage aligned with NEP 2020 in April 2025.

ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (A) OF THE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED  QUESTION  NO.  3928  FOR  18.08.2025  ASKED  BY  HON'BLE  MP,  SHRI SHAFI PARAMBIL, REGARDING 'USE OF SIGN LANGUAGES'.

State/UT-wise  list  of  institutions  approved  by  RCI  to  conduct  Diploma  in  Indian  Sign Language Interpretation (DISLI) & Diploma in Teaching Indian Sign Language (DTISL) programmes

|   S.No. | State/UT         | Institution                                                                                                                           |
|---------|------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|       1 | Andhra Pradesh   | Composite Regional Centre Nellore (C/o National Institute for the Empowerment of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities - Divyangjan) |
|       2 | Bihar            | Composite Regional Centre for Skill Development                                                                                       |
|       3 | Chhattisgarh     | Composite Regional Centre for Skill Development, Rehabilitation &Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities                             |
|       4 | Delhi            | Indian Sign Language Research &Training Centre (ISLRTC) Tamana Association (School of Hope)                                           |
|       5 | Goa              | Ali Yavar Jung National Institute of Speech and Hearing Disabilities (AYJNISHD) Extension Centre                                      |
|       6 | Gujarat          | Composite Regional Centre for Persons with Disabilities                                                                               |
|       7 | Haryana          | Haryana Welfare Society for Persons With Speech & Hearing Impairment                                                                  |
|       7 | Haryana          | Maharshi Dayanand University Rohtak                                                                                                   |
|       8 | Himachal Pradesh | Composite Regional Centre for Persons with Disabilities                                                                               |
|       9 | Jharkhand        | Composite Regional Center                                                                                                             |
|      10 | Karnataka        | Composite Regional Centre                                                                                                             |
|      11 | Kerala           | National Institute of Speech &Hearing (NISH)                                                                                          |
|      12 | Madhya Pradesh   | Composite Regional Centre for Persons with Disabilities (CRC)                                                                         |
|      12 | Madhya Pradesh   | Deaf Dumb Association Indore                                                                                                          |
|      12 | Madhya Pradesh   | National Institute of Mental Health Rehabilitation                                                                                    |
|      13 | Maharashtra      | Ali Yavar Jung National Institute of Speech and Hearing Disabilities (Divyangjan)                                                     |
|      14 | Manipur          | Bir Tikendrajit University                                                                                                            |
|      14 | Manipur          | Composite Regional Center for Skill Development, Rehabilitation & Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (CRC-Imphal)               |
|      15 | Meghalaya        | Composite Regional Centre for Skill Development, Rehabilitation & Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan)               |
|      16 | Odisha           | AYJNISHD (Divyangjan), Regional Centre                                                                                                |

|    |               | Composite Regional Centre for Skill Development, Rehabilitation & Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan)                                                   |
|----|---------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|    |               | Swami Vivekanand National Institute of Rehabilitation Training and Research                                                                                               |
| 17 | Punjab        | Speaking Hand Welfare Foundation                                                                                                                                          |
| 18 | Rajasthan     | Composite Regional Centre for Skill Development, Rehabilitation & Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan) under NIEPVD, Dehradun, DEPwD (Divyangjan) M/OSJE |
| 18 | Rajasthan     | Shyam University: Department of Special Education                                                                                                                         |
| 19 | Tamil Nadu    | Composite Regional Centre for Skill Development, Rehabilitation & Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (CRC-Madurai)                                                  |
| 19 | Tamil Nadu    | Faculty of Disability Management and Special Education: Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda University (RKMVU)                                                                |
| 19 | Tamil Nadu    | National Institute for Empowerment of Persons with Multiple Disabilities                                                                                                  |
| 20 | Telangana     | Ali Yavar Jung National Institute of Speech and Hearing Disabilities (Divyangjan), Regional Centre                                                                        |
| 20 | Telangana     | Ashray Akruti                                                                                                                                                             |
| 21 | Tripura       | Composite Regional Centre for Skills Development                                                                                                                          |
| 22 | Uttar Pradesh | Composite Regional Centre for Skill Development                                                                                                                           |
| 22 | Uttar Pradesh | Dr. RPS Institute of Education                                                                                                                                            |
| 23 | Uttarakhand   | National Institute for the Empowerment of Persons with Visual Disabilities (Divyangjan)                                                                                   |
| 24 | West Bengal   | Ali Yavar Jung National Institute of Speech and Hearing Disabilities (Divyangjan), Regional Centre                                                                        |
| 24 | West Bengal   | National Institute for the Orthopaedically Handicapped                                                                                                                    |

ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (B) OF THE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED  QUESTION  NO.  3928  FOR  18.08.2025  ASKED  BY  HON'BLE  MP,  SHRI SHAFI PARAMBIL, REGARDING 'USE OF SIGN LANGUAGES'.

Registration  details  of  Personnel  in  Central  Rehabilitation  Register  (CRR)  of  RCI  with DISLI and DTISL courses

|   S.No. | State/UT                    |   Diploma in Indian Sign Language Interpreting (DISLI) |   Diploma in Teaching Indian Sign Language (DTISL) |
|---------|-----------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------|
|       1 | Andaman and Nicobar Islands |                                                      0 |                                                  0 |
|       2 | Andhra Pradesh              |                                                      0 |                                                  0 |
|       3 | Arunachal Pradesh           |                                                      0 |                                                  0 |
|       4 | Assam                       |                                                      1 |                                                  3 |
|       5 | Bihar                       |                                                      5 |                                                  6 |
|       6 | Chandigarh                  |                                                      1 |                                                  0 |
|       7 | Chhattisgarh                |                                                      5 |                                                  5 |
|       8 | DD&DNH                      |                                                      0 |                                                  0 |
|       9 | Delhi                       |                                                     80 |                                                 25 |
|      10 | Goa                         |                                                      3 |                                                  0 |
|      11 | Gujarat                     |                                                      7 |                                                  3 |
|      12 | Haryana                     |                                                     62 |                                                 35 |
|      13 | Himachal Pradesh            |                                                      2 |                                                  1 |
|      14 | Jammu &Kashmir              |                                                      0 |                                                  3 |
|      15 | Jharkhand                   |                                                      3 |                                                  4 |
|      16 | Karnataka                   |                                                      8 |                                                  2 |
|      17 | Kerala                      |                                                     28 |                                                 14 |
|      18 | Ladakh                      |                                                      0 |                                                  0 |
|      19 | Lakshadweep                 |                                                      0 |                                                  1 |
|      20 | Madhya Pradesh              |                                                     62 |                                                 34 |
|      21 | Maharashtra                 |                                                     28 |                                                 10 |
|      22 | Manipur                     |                                                      2 |                                                  1 |
|      23 | Meghalaya                   |                                                      1 |                                                  1 |
|      24 | Mizoram                     |                                                      3 |                                                  0 |
|      25 | Nagaland                    |                                                      0 |                                                  0 |
|      26 | Odisha                      |                                                      0 |                                                  0 |
|      27 | Puducherry                  |                                                      0 |                                                  0 |
|      28 | Punjab                      |                                                      0 |                                                  0 |
|      29 | Rajasthan                   |                                                      0 |                                                  0 |
|      30 | Sikkim                      |                                                      0 |                                                  0 |
|      31 | Tamil Nadu                  |                                                      0 |                                                  0 |

| 32   | Telangana     |   0 |   0 |
|------|---------------|-----|-----|
| 33   | Tripura       |   0 |   0 |
| 34   | Uttar Pradesh |   0 |   0 |
| 35   | Uttarakhand   |   0 |   0 |
| 36   | West Bengal   |   0 |   0 |
|      | Total         | 301 | 148 |

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