Section 1. Short title and commencement

1. Short title and commencement.— (1) This Act may be called the Official Languages Act, 1963. (2) Section 3 shall come into force on the 26th day of January, 1965 and the remaining provisions of this Act shall come into force on such date[1 ] as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint and different dates may be appointed for different provisions of this Act. 1. 10th January, 1965, vide notification No. S.O. 94, dated 4th January, 1965, in respect of section 5(1), see Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, sec. 3(ii). 19th May, 1969, vide notification No. S.O. 1945, dated the 14th May, 1969, in respect of section 6, see Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, sec. 3(ii). 7th March, 1970, vide notification No. S.O. 841, dated the 26th February, 1970, in respect of section 7, see Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, sec. 3(ii). 1st October, 1976, vide notification No. S.O. 655(E), dated the 5th October, 1976, in respect of section 5(2), see Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, sec. 3(ii). a translation of such communication in the English language or, as the case may be, in Hindi shall also be provided till such date as the staff of the concerned Ministry, Department, office or corporation or company aforesaid have acquired a working knowledge of Hindi. (3) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), both Hindi and the English language shall be used for— (i) resolutions, general orders, rules, notifications, administrative or other reports or press communiques issued or made by the Central Government or by a Ministry, Department or office thereof or by a corporation or company owned or controlled by the Central Government or by any office of such corporation or company; (ii) administrative and other reports and official papers laid before a House or the Houses of Parliament; (iii) contracts and agreements executed, and licences, permits, notices and forms of tender issued, by or on behalf of the Central Government or any Ministry, Department or office thereof or by a corporation or company owned or controlled by the Central Government or by any office of such corporation or company. (4) Without prejudice to the provisions of sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) or sub-section (3), the Central Government may, by rules made under section 8, provide for the language or languages to be used for the official purpose of the Union, including the working of any Ministry, Department, section or office, and in making such rules, due consideration shall be given to the quick and efficient disposal of the official business and the interests of the general public and in particular, the rules so made shall ensure that persons serving in connection with the affairs of the Union and having proficiency either in Hindi or in the English language may function effectively and that they are not placed at a disadvantage on the ground that they do not have proficiency in both the languages. (5) The provisions of clause (a) of sub-section (1), and the provisions of sub-section (2), sub-section (3) and sub-section (4) shall remain in force until resolutions for the discontinuance of the use of the English language for the purposes mentioned therein have been passed by the Legislatures of all the States which have not adopted Hindi as their official language and until after considering the resolutions aforesaid, a resolution for such discontinuance has been passed by each House of Parliament.]