BHUBANESWAR: The Adhyapika Niharika Das Memorial Trust has announced to observe December 14 as ‘National Proofreading Day’ every year to raise awareness about the importance of proofreading and promote error-free writing. The trust has been felicitating the best proofreader in Odia for the past two years.
Trust convenor Deepak Kumar Mahanta said proofreading, considered an integral part of the printing process in developed countries, remains undervalued in India, particularly in Odisha. This has led to a crisis in the publishing sector, with numerous errors found in Odia books, including textbooks, due to inadequate proofreading, he said.
Mahanta also pointed out that National Proofreading Day is observed in the United States on March 8 every year to promote error-free writing and raise awareness on importance of proofreading. “However, it continues to be treated as secondary in our country, resulting in errors in books published in Indian languages,” he said.
The Trust has appealed to writers, publishers, journalists and book lovers to observe December 14 as National Proofreading Day and spread awareness about the importance and dignity of proofreading. Former principal of the Eastern Regional Language Centre Arabinda Patnaik, noted academician Narayan Mohanty, former principal of Acharya Harihar Mahavidyalaya Pabitra Kumar Ratha and eminent satirist Radhashyam Roul were present.