Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], November 12 (ANI): Highlighting the legacy of Tamil as one of the oldest languages in the world, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday appealed to the Tamil Nadu government to start medical education in Tamil medium in the state.

Addressing an event in Chennai, Shah said, "Tamil is one of the oldest languages in the world. I believe Tamil grammar is also one of the oldest grammar in the world. Not just Tamil Nadu but it is the responsibility of the nation to promote Tamil. Many states in the country have started medical and technical education in regional languages.""I appeal to the Tamil Nadu governmnet to start medical education in Tamil. It will help students from Tamil medium schools to grasp the subjects easily. It will also help in research and development in the field of medical science in Tamil," the Minister said.

He said if the Tamil Nadu government starts medical and technical education in Tamil medium then it will be a great service to the ancient language.

"It was suggested to start providing technical education in 1,350 seats in Tamil medium. The latest data from All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) shows education in Tamil medium is being provided only in 85 seats. If the Tamil Nadu government focus on providing medical and engineering courses in Tamil medium then it will be a great service for the Tamil language," added Shah.

Shah's statement has come against the backdrop of controversy over the recommendation of a parliamentary panel to make Hindi the medium of instruction in central educational institutions.

Last month, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the matter. Further, the Stalin-led Tamil Nadu government had moved a resolution against "Hindi imposition" in the state Assembly.

Emphasising on the development works of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government at the Centre, the Union Home Minister said due to political stability and corruption-free rule, India has become a rapidly growing economy.

In the last eight years, Shah said the country did very good work in terms of strengthening development and economy. By 2025, India will certainly become a 5 trillion dollar economy, he said.

Refering to a report by Morgan Stanley, Shah said India will become the third biggest economy in the world by 2027.

"For this, infrastructure is very important. Because of effective and transparent policies, the Modi government achieved a lot in different sectors in the last 8 years. International Monetary Fund called India's economy a bright spot in a dark zone and predicted that India will be at second position in G20 with 6.8 per cent GDP in 2022-23 and in 1st position in G20 in 2023-24 with 6.1 per cent GDP," added the Home Minister. (ANI)