SIMULTANEOUS INTERPRETATION SERVICE 40. INTERPRETERS SECTION

Transcription

1 VI. SIMULTANEOUS INTERPRETATION SERVICE 0. INTERPRETERS SECTION 0.1 Main function: The function of the Simultaneous Interpretation Service is to provide simultaneous interpretation of the proceedings of the Rajya Sabha in Hindi and English from the floor language so that Chairperson, Ministers and Members not knowing the floor language can follow the proceedings of the House. Each seat of the House has been provided with an earphone and a channel selector. A number of such earphones have also been provided in the Lok Sabha Members Gallery, Special Box for Distinguished Visitors, Press Gallery and Official Gallery in order to make the interpretation facility available there too. Similar arrangement exists in most of the Committee rooms both in Parliament House & Parliament House Annexe. Simultaneous interpretation of speeches etc. made in Hindi and English is available throughout the sittings of the House and its Committees. Besides, arrangements, at present exist for simultaneous interpretation in Hindi and English of speeches made in 10 other Indian languages, namely, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu. A Member desirous of speaking in any of the aforesaid Indian languages is required to give at least an hour s notice to this effect. The notice is received by the Table Office and is then passed on to the Principal Chief Parliamentary Interpreter/Chief Parliamentary Interpreter who makes the necessary arrangement therefor. Before the beginning of each Session, Hon ble Members are informed of this procedure as also of the working of the systemuse of equipment etc. through a Bulletin issued by the Secretariat. The provision of simultaneous interpretation facility has greatly encouraged hon ble Members and Ministers to speak in Hindi and their respective mother tongues. An ever increasing number of Members choosing an Indian language instead of English to articulate their views in the House and its Committees over the years is reflective of the smooth and successful functioning of the Service. The existing strength of officers of the Service is as follows: Principal Chief Parliamentary Interpreter 1 1 Chief Parliamentary Interpreter

2 Senior Parliamentary Interpreters Hindi/English 1 Marathi 1 Telugu 1 Oriya 1 Parliamentary Interpreters 17+2 (on deputation to (i) Min. of Home Affairs (ii) Govt. of Karnataka) Hindi/English 12+1(on deputation tomin.of.home Affairs) Assamese 1 Bengali 1 Kannada 1 (on deputation to Govt. of Karnataka) Malayalam 1 Tamil 1 Urdu 1 Total: 2+2 Vacancies Hindi/English 2 Punjabi Interpretation Work: During the period under review, the Service covered the proceedings of Sessions of Rajya Sabha from 192nd to 19th Session. The total number of sittings was 81. Work relating to speeches in various regional languages interalia involves preparation of the English/Hindi version of the speech for inclusion in the day s proceedings of the House. Simultaneous interpretation facility was also provided in the meetings of all Departmentrelated Parliamentary Standing Committees of the Rajya Sabha and also other House committees. The

3 total number of meetings covered during the year was 29.Since the existing strength of HindiEnglish Interpreters was inadequate to cope with the interpretation work in the Committee meetings the services of Shri L.B. Shinde, Senior Parliamentary Interpreter (Marathi), Smt. D. Jayashree, Senior Parliamentary Interpreter (Telugu) and Shri D.M.N. Khan, Parliamentary Interpreter (Urdu) were utilized for HindiEnglish Interpretation on their own volition. Various Ministries and Departments also requested the services of the officers of the Simultaneous Interpretation Service for their conferences and consultative committee meetings. (a) Language Interpretation (other than Hindi/English) Sl. No. Language No.of speeches made during session 192nd 19rd 19th Assamese Bengali Kannada Malayalam Gujarati Marathi Oriya Tamil Telugu Urdu Translation: The Service is called upon to render translation into English/Hindi of documents such as speeches, Press reports, letters, petitions etc. received by the Rajya Sabha Secretariat

4 in various regional languages. During the year under review, no such documents were received from different Committee Sections etc. 0. Skill and efficiency: With a view to keeping the Interpreters in form and further improving their skill and efficiency, regular practice of simultaneous interpretation was conducted during the year under review. 0.5 Inspection: Inspection of Simultaneous Interpretation Service was carried out on 8 th November 2001 by Shri L.S.R Murthy, Principal Chief Parliamentary Reporter assisted by Shri. M.N. Kukreti, Chief Parliamentary Interpreter. The objective was to (i) identify problems/deficiencies, if any, coming in the way of smooth functioning of the Service and (ii) explore possibilities of further improvement in the efficiency and quality of the service rendered. The matter was discussed with all the Officers belonging to the Simultaneous Interpretation Service. It was impressed upon them that they should continue making all round efforts towards further augmenting skills in different areas of their job. They were advised to continue to maintain punctuality and avoid taking leave frequently and not to take any leave during the period when the House is in session, except in extremely unavoidable circumstances: Apart from the lack of adequate space for seating the Officers of the Service, which has been time and again brought to the notice of the Officers dealing with the subject, the following deficiencies were noted: 1. Vacancies not filled up: The longstanding vacancies (HindiEnglish: 2, Punjabi: 1) have caused strain on the existing strength of Interpreters, which is inadequate to cope with the increasing number of Committee meetings. Transfer of Shri Rajeev Issar on deputation to the ministry of Home Affairs and of Shri K. Soma Sekhar have resulted in two more vacancies (one each in HindiEnglish and Kannada) 2. Dictionaries in serviceable condition and their latest editions needed: Most of the dictionaries being used by the officers of the Service are old editions, tattered and unserviceable. It is very essential to

5 replace the unserviceable ones and also to add some latest editions English, Hindi and some other languages.. Need for comprehensive training programme: The routine practice sessions and group discussions being held at present do not fully meet the objective of skillefficiency improvement. There is a dire need to devise and have a comprehensive structured inservice training programme catering to different areas of skillimprovement and an exposure to the system working in the other Parliaments.. Provision of Computers: It would be in the interest of improving the efficiency of the Interpreters if each one is provided with a computer. 5. Supervisory duties for Senior Parliamentary Interpreters: The four SPIs may be assigned, in addition to the Interpretation duties, some supervisory duties, as for example, monitoring the performance of the PIs, ensuring attendance and punctuality and providing guidance to the junior PIs. 0.6 Goals and Objectives: Goals and objectives as set out in the action plan for the year under review include providing simultaneous interpretation in the House and its various committees, preparing translating versions of the speeches made in regional languages, compilation of the rulings by the Chair and maintaining a register to record the precedents and rulings/directions from the Chair during the session period. These goals and objectives were fully achieved during the year.