The Ministry of Education has approved setting up of five Centres of Excellence for studies in Classical Assamese, Bengali, Pali, Marathi, and Prakrit, officials said on Saturday (October 3, 2026).

The five centres will be set up to strengthen academic research, digitisation, preservation, and dissemination of heritage of these classical languages, they said.

"A proud moment for Odisha and a significant step towards preserving India's rich linguistic heritage. The Ministry of Education's approval of a Centre of Excellence for Classical Pali at the Central University of Odisha will strengthen the study, preservation, and promotion of Pali, a language deeply connected with India's intellectual, spiritual, and cultural traditions," Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi said in a post on X.

"This Centre will further strengthen Odisha’s contribution to preserving India's civilisational knowledge and linguistic heritage. My congratulations to the Central University of Odisha and everyone associated with this important initiative," he added.

The five universities where the Centres of Excellence will be set up include Tezpur University (Assamese), Visva Bharati University (Bengali), Central University of Odisha (Pali), Central University of Gujarat (Prakrit), Deccan College Post Graduate and Research Institute in Pune (Marathi).