13 September,2026 05:57 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Union Home Minister Amit Shah will inaugurate Hindi Diwas 2026 and the sixth All India Official Language Conference in Mumbai. Pic/PTI
Union Home Minister Amit Shah will address the inaugural session of Hindi Diwas 2026 and the sixth All India Official Language Conference in Mumbai on Monday, with the two-day programme set to highlight Hindi's relationship with Maharashtra's linguistic, cultural and literary traditions, reported the IANS.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Sunetra Pawar, Members of Parliament, scholars, litterateurs, educationists and senior Central government officials are expected to attend the event.
The programme, organised by the Department of Official Language under the Ministry of Home Affairs, is being held in Maharashtra this year as part of a conference series that began in Varanasi in 2021 and subsequently travelled to Surat, Pune, New Delhi and Gandhinagar.
During the inaugural session, Shah will present the 'Rajbhasha Gaurav' and 'Rajbhasha Kirti' Awards for 2025-26 to institutions and individuals who have made notable contributions to the promotion and implementation of the Official Language.
Several books and publications are also scheduled to be launched during the conference. These include a special issue of the department's journal 'Rajbhasha Bharati', centred on the National Song 'Vande Mataram', along with 'Bharatiya Gyan Tantra: Srot aur Swaroop', 'Shiv Anadi Hain, Anant Hain' and 'Andheron Se Ujalon Tak', a compilation of writings by prison inmates.
According to the IANS, a special discussion on 'Vande Mataram' will be among the key attractions of this year's conference. Joydeep Chattopadhyay, a fifth-generation descendant of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, the author of 'Vande Mataram', will also be present.
Another session will focus on Town Official Language Implementation Committees, known as TOLICs or NARAKAS, which work towards implementing Official Language Hindi at the grassroots level.
A special exhibition will also be organised at the venue, featuring stalls by institutions, organisations, banks and Central government ministries.
Meanwhile, on Sunday, Shah, while speaking at the 52nd India Gem & Jewellery Awards, called for Indians to control the complete lab-grown diamond ecosystem and build globally recognised Indian brands.
"In terms of volume, the market for lab-grown diamonds is poised to expand to nearly 50 times the size of the current diamond market. This represents a huge opportunity," Shah said, as per the IANS.
He urged the industry to ensure that manufacturing machinery, diamond production, jewellery-making, branding and international retail remain firmly in Indian hands.
"It is my appeal to you that lab-grown diamonds' entire ecosystem should be in the control of people of Bharat. It should be our jewellers who should be controlling it. You can do it. People of Surat and Mumbai have demonstrated it," he said.
Shah said the Union government would introduce a policy for the sector, while Gujarat and Maharashtra were also working on policies.
Shah said India should become a "founder member and founder industry" in the lab-grown diamond business and develop Indian brands with a global presence.
He said India's gems and jewellery exports stood at Rs 2.44 lakh crore in 2025, accounting for 6.3 per cent of merchandise exports and providing direct or indirect employment to nearly 75 lakh people.
He also highlighted the Bharat Ratnam mega common facility centre and the proposed India Jewellery Park in Maharashtra, which is expected to attract Rs 50,000 crore in investment and generate nearly one lakh direct and indirect jobs.
Shah said policy measures, free trade agreements and tax incentives for eligible rough diamond businesses would further support India's ambition to emerge as a global gems and jewellery hub.
(With inputs from IANS)
