IOSR Develops First-Ever Odia Technical Glossary for Engineering Students

IOSR Develops First-Ever Odia Technical Glossary for Engineering Students

In a landmark move for regional language education, the Bhubaneswar-based Institute of Odia Studies & Research (IOSR) has compiled a 54,000-word technical glossary in Odia for engineering education. Recently approved by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), the glossary will soon be available for free download on the e-Kumbh portal.

This is the first time such a comprehensive glossary has been developed in a regional Indian language. According to AICTE Director Sunil Kumar Luthra, the initiative will serve as a model for other states.

Subrat Prusty, Odia researcher and chief coordinator of the translation project, explained that most engineering terms are derived from foreign languages like English, German, French, and Latin. To make them easily understandable, many terms in the Odia version remain unchanged from English—such as using "computer" instead of a translated term. This avoids confusion caused by unreliable online translations.

Beyond the glossary, the first-year engineering textbooks have already been fully translated into Odia, with 36 BTech and 33 diploma books distributed free of cost to colleges and universities. Students who haven’t received copies can collect them from the IOSR office.

Translation work for second- and third-year books is in progress. Out of 70 second-year books provided by AICTE, 30 have been translated and reviewed, while 29 are pending due to technical issues with the Anuvadini AI translation tool. For third-year, 22 out of 48 books are under translation. Work on the fourth-year books is yet to begin.

Aligned with the National Education Policy 2020, this initiative positions Odia among 11 regional languages chosen by AICTE to promote technical education in mother tongues.