The education ministry has taken another step to retrieve the (hardly spoken) Sanskrit language. It has recommended that central government institutions for engineering and scientific studies, which includes IITs, should have a Sanskrit cell that will help students study ancient literature related to their fields, Hindustan Times reports. For this purpose, it has already formed a panel, headed by retired IAS officer N Gopalaswami, which will provide internship opportunities to the students so that they could earn more credits during their course study. Gopalaswami believes that if financial support is given to these students then their talent can unravel the scientific knowledge hidden in Sanskrit literature through small, focused projects. The panel has also recommended introducing Sanskrit as an optional language in undergraduate courses. The report in Hindustan Times further mentions that IIT Delhi has accepted the project to introduce Sanskrit courses for undergraduate students. This newly-formed cell is expected to alleviate study of science and technology in Sanskrit literature. “Atharavaveda, Vaisheshika Darshana, etc, are, it is acknowledged, the treasure house of scientific concepts which are hitherto studied from Science point of view. There are hundreds of works like Siddhanta Shiromani, Vriksha Ayurveda.., which are of great relevance in the context of research and innovation,” the panel said. Sooner or later, one may also see Sanskrit-medium schools in every state, as this idea too has been advocated by the panel.