All correspondence, papers, documents specified under Section 3(3) of the Official Language Act, 1963, as amended, were issued both in Hindi and English. Efforts to promote the use of Hindi in the official work were continued. Quarterly meetings of the Hindi Implementation Committee were held under the Chairmanship of Joint Secretary (Admn) to review the progressive use of Hindi in the day to day work of the Department.

Hindi week was observed from 14-20 September 1991 during which Hindi essay, Hindi noting, drafting and typing competitions were organised. A Hindi Workshop was also held during this week. Cash prizes and certificates were awarded to the winners of these competitions.

Under the Mahasagar Puraskar Yojna which aims to promote original writings in Hindi in the field of ocean science, five books were received and two were selected for the cash awards. The first prize of Rs. 15,000/- was awarded for the Hindi book 'Antim Sharan Sthal-Sagar' and the third prize of Rs. 5,000/- for the book 'Durgam Pradesh Antarctica' . A book 'Samudra Vigyan Ki Uplabdhiyan' on scientific research in oceanography, was brought out by the Department and released by the Vice President of India on 6 August 1991. A ward winners under Mahasagar Puraskar Yojna also received their prizes from the Vice President. Posters, charts, annual programme and literature related to official work were circulated among the staff.

Parliament Questions

During the 1 st and 2nd Session of the l0th Lok Sabha, 17 Unstarred Questions and 3 Starred Questions were admitted and answered in the Lok Sabha between the period July- December 1991. Similarly, during the 159th, 160th and 161st Session of the Rajya Sabha, 3 Unstarred Questions were admitted and answered. One Lok Sabha assurance was also fulfilled.