‘Marathi similar-Language Subtitling Centre’ Inaugurated at Doordarshan
Mumbai, October 2026: The availability of same-language subtitles in audiovisual content will help improve language comprehension and reading skills, giving a significant boost to language learning, Principal Secretary and Director General of the Information and Public Relations Department Brijesh Singh said on Wednesday.
Singh inaugurated the PlanetRead ‘Marathi Similar -Language Subtitling Centre’ at the Doordarshan Centre in Worli, Mumbai, by cutting a ribbon. He was speaking at a programme held afterwards at the Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Auditorium on the Doordarshan premises.
The event was attended by Hemant Desai, Deputy Director (Engineering) at Doordarshan Mumbai, Ganesh Iyer, and Professor Brij Kothari, Assistant Professor at IIT Delhi and head of Billion Readers.
Initiative to Promote Marathi Reading
Under the initiative, Marathi entertainment programmes broadcast on Doordarshan’s Sahyadri channel will feature Marathi subtitles in the Devanagari script. This will encourage viewers to read Marathi while watching television programmes and help promote reading in the regional language.
The initiative is expected to benefit students as well as people with hearing impairments. Maharashtra has become the first state to launch this initiative to provide subtitles in a regional language.
The programme has been launched jointly by the Maharashtra government, Prasar Bharati, IIT Delhi and PlanetRead.
Technology to Strengthen Language Learning
Addressing the gathering, Principal Secretary Brijesh Singh said the innovative initiative would enable people with hearing impairments to better understand stories, plots and developments in screenplays.
He said it was a matter of pride that Maharashtra was taking the lead in an initiative that recognises the importance of the written word.
“Marathi is an extremely rich language. Many people who speak the language in their daily lives do not have access to the entire world of written language. Therefore, the importance of the written word must not be allowed to diminish,” Singh said.
He described same-language subtitles as a simple and effective technology-based solution to address this gap.
Singh observed that as people spend increasing amounts of time watching screens, providing subtitles in the same language can help them learn more easily by connecting written words with the context of the content being watched.
Subtitles can strengthen viewers’ relationship with a language and improve their understanding of it, he said. The initiative would be particularly useful for people with hearing impairments, enabling them to follow stories and sequences of events on screen more effectively.
Experts Highlight Benefits of Subtitling
In his introductory remarks, Professor Brij Kothari explained the importance of promoting Marathi and increasing reading habits through accessible audiovisual content.
Santosh Jadhav demonstrated the subtitling process, while Devesh Kumar explained PlanetRead’s work and the language-subtitling initiative.
The programme was hosted by Leenata Ghag and Purva Karve, while Chetana Pawar delivered the vote of thanks.
The initiative seeks to integrate reading into everyday entertainment, using television as a platform to improve literacy, strengthen regional-language learning and make audiovisual content more accessible to a wider audience.
