New Delhi, Jun 14 (IANS): Union Human Resources Development (HRD) Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' on Thursday stressed creation of at least two Sanskrit-speaking villages near the institutions that teach the language. The minister said more highly qualified Sanskrit teachers/professors should be engaged to give new dimensions to the language, both at the national as well as international levels.

During a meeting with heads of the central language institutions, the minister called for discovering innovative ways to promote Indian languages. "He said there is strong need for research in Indian languages. The Minister felt that literature in each Indian language must be translated into other languages," a departmental release quoted him saying.

The minister also said that in the coming years, the HRD ministry will establish 'Bhasha Bhawan', a building in which all the institutes related to Indian languages will be located together and they work for the betterment of these languages.

"He said that our focus is to promote all Indian languages for which all vacancies need to be filled. The minister directed the officials of the Ministry to meet the heads of these institutions on a regular basis," it added.

Minister of State (MoS) Sanjay Dhotre was also present in the meeting.