Overview
The document is an official order from the Government of West Bengal’s Personnel and Administrative Reforms Department mandating the compulsory use of the Bengali language in state administration and public services, effective September 1, 2026.
The central objective of this policy is to guarantee “administration in the language of the public, for the public”.
Core Directives
Public Interaction: All government entities, including police and law enforcement agencies, must utilize Bengali for public communications, notices, applications, and grievance redressals.
Administrative Adoption: Departments are required to begin preparations to establish Bengali as the primary administrative language for official documents, internal operations, and inter-departmental correspondence.
Infrastructure Readiness: Departments must complete a comprehensive survey within three months to evaluate staff language proficiency, translation needs, IT system readiness, and additional financial requirements.
Execution and Monitoring
Oversight Committees: The implementation will be supervised by a State-Level Steering Committee headed by the Chief Secretary, supported by dedicated implementation committees at both the department and district levels.
Standardization and Training: A newly formed West Bengal Official Language Committee (assisted by the Paschimbanga Bangla Akademi) will standardize official terminology, while the Administrative Training Institute will develop relevant language training programs for government staff.
Resource Allocation and Reporting: The Finance Department is tasked with assessing the need for new roles (such as translators and typists) and allocating necessary funds, while all departments must submit monthly progress reports to the Chief Secretary.
Linguistic Inclusivity
While promoting Bengali, the state government officially recognizes the equal dignity, cultural value, and importance of all native languages spoken across different regions.
To ensure accessible and inclusive service delivery, vital government information and public welfare communications will also be disseminated in other regional languages, explicitly including Hindi, Nepali, Santali, Rajbanshi, Kamtapuri, Kurmali, and Kurukh.