Lok Sabha now livestreamed on YouTube in English, Hindi

The Lower House of Parliament has been broadcast with English and Hindi interpretations on some cable and satellite TV providers; from the ongoing session, these are now available online as well, in addition to some regional languages

In a significant step for accessibility of Parliamentary proceedings, Sansad TV has since December 4 started livestreaming English and Hindi simultaneous interpretation versions of Lok Sabha proceedings on YouTube. These interpretation tracks have been available since the last session of Parliament only on cable and satellite TV providers, and within the Parliament itself.

In July, languages like Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, Odia, Marathi, Gujarati and Punjabi started livestreaming on YouTube, but English and Hindi were not made available.

The simultaneous interpretation, Sansad TV says in a disclaimer, is not an authoritative translation of the proceedings, and is being provided “on trial basis” for convenience. Sansad TV is not publishing recordings of these interpretations, and they can currently only be viewed in real time.

In July, Sansad TV started livestreaming and broadcasting simultaneous interpretations of Lok Sabha proceedings in 10 regional languages, though not all languages have been represented every day.

Both Houses of Parliament have a well regarded cadre of interpreters between Hindi and English, and have historically also made arrangements for Members of Parliament who have sought — at times — to speak in a regional language other than Hindi, something that requires written notice to the Speaker in advance, partly in order to prepare the interpreters.

The ranks of interpreters has swelled considerably over the last two years, as the Lok Sabha secretariat in particular moved to hire a number of “consultant interpreters” who are paid ₹6,000 on a daily basis, along with an annual ₹25,000 retainer. A Lok Sabha recruitment notice shows that the Lower House intended to recruit over a hundred new interpreters, five for each of 21 regional languages. Only up to 10 of these languages are broadcast, however.

Some Opposition lawmakers initially chafed at the broadcast of these interpretations, as some DTH platforms started broadcasting the Hindi or English interpretation track by default. This, they charged, was an attempt at stifling the impact of their oratory by overlaying their speeches with interpreters’ voices.

Sansad TV then clarified that the “floor audio”, or the raw proceedings, were still being broadcast, and could be selected as an audio option by TV viewers.

Published - December 12, 2024 10:53 pm IST