''Thirukkural'' translation to be made available in 30 more languages by Jan 2026, says official
Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) (PTI): The Central Institute of Classical Tamil has started a new initiative to translate the classical Tamil text, Thirukkural, into 30 more languages, a top official of the institute said.
Thirukkural, which consists of 1,330 aphoristic couplets that are divided into three parts -- on virtue, material world and romantic love -- and is lauded as having universal relevance beyond its time.
The text has so far been translated into 34 languages, including 25 Indian languages, said R Chandrasekaran, Director, Central Institute of Classical Tamil, an autonomous institution established by the Ministry of Education, Chennai, after Tamil was declared a classical language in 2004.
"In addition to the 34 languages in which Tirukkural is already available, we have a plan to make it available in 30 more languages, including 23 Indian languages by Pongal 2026," he told PTI.
The Institute wants to see Thirukkural in 100 languages by August 2026, Prof Chandrasekaran said.
"That will convey to the world the value and specialities of Thirukkural to the people living across the globe," he said.
To a question, he said that the Centre wants to expand the reach of Thirukkural and its values by taking it to the people living in various parts of the globe, and hence the institute translates the text into more languages.
Some of the Indian languages into which Thirukkural is to be translated are non-scheduled languages. For example, it will be translated into a language spoken by the Irular tribe living in the Ootacamund, Nilgiris district, he said.
"We have released the translation of Tirukkural in scheduled languages already. Now, we are releasing it in non-scheduled languages," he explained.
To another query, he said some of the foreign languages into which Thirukkural is proposed to be translated include German, French and Spanish.
"We are tentatively planning to launch the translation of Thirukkural into non-scheduled languages by January 2026", he said.
It may be noted that January 15, the second day of Pongal festival (and Tamil month 'Thai'), is celebrated as Thiruvallurvar day in Tamil Nadu.
Referring to the launch of the multilingual translation of 'Tholkappiam', the oldest Tamil grammar book, by UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on December 2 during the inauguration of Kashi Tamil Sangamam 4.0, Chandrasekharan said the institute has taken up the initiative to cater to a wider section of the people.
"It has been translated into 10 languages, including four Indian languages viz. Odia, Assamese, Urdu and Tulu," he said.
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Rupee rebounds from record low; gains 1.6 pc to 93.19 against US dollar
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee recovered 151 paise from its record low level to trade at 93.19 against the US dollar in early deals on Thursday, backed by the Reserve Bank's move to restrict banks' net open position in the onshore forward delivery market.
The domestic unit, however, faced pressure due to unabated withdrawal of foreign capital, strengthening dollar and rising crude oil prices amid volatile geopolitical situation, forex analysts said.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 94.62 and rose sharply to 93.19 against the US dollar in early deals, registering a gain of 151 paise or 1.6 per cent from its previous close.
The local currency breached the 95 level on Monday before closing at 94.70 versus the greenback. It had settled at a historic low of 94.84 against dollar on Friday, prompting the RBI to intervene.
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Through its circular dated March 27, 2026, RBI capped the net open position on the Indian rupee for banks at USD 100 million, mandating compliance by April 10.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.32 per cent higher at 99.77.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading at USD 106.06 per barrel, up 4.84 per cent, in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, Sensex tumbled 1,312.91 points or 1.80 per cent to 71,821.41 in early trade, while the Nifty slumped 410.45 points or 1.81 per cent to 22,383.40.
Foreign institutional investors sold equities worth Rs 8,331.15 crore on a net basis on Wednesday, according to exchange data.
"The high crude price, the widening trade deficit, the fear of declining remittances and sustained FPI selling are acting cumulatively to put high pressure on the rupee," said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited.
Since the beginning of the West Asia war on February 28, 2026, the rupee has depreciated over 4 per cent. During the fiscal year ended March 2026, the currency has declined nearly 10 per cent against the US dollar.
Government data released on Wednesday showed that the government's GST revenues grew about 9 per cent in March, scaling to the pre-tax cut level of over Rs 2 lakh crore, the third highest monthly collection in the 2025-26 fiscal, buoyed by mop-ups from imports as well as domestic sales and purchases.
