Odisha Revenue Minister Suresh Pujari announced on Saturday that the names of various public offices and institutions across the state will be updated within the next month to reflect correct phonetic and linguistic spellings.
The move follows a Cabinet decision approving the correction of English spellings for 64 locations across 26 districts. According to the government, many of the existing spellings were inherited from the British colonial period and do not accurately represent the original Odia pronunciation.
State and Central Institutions to Be Updated
The Revenue Minister said the changes would initially apply to state-level offices and institutions. The Odisha government will also formally communicate with the Centre to revise the names of Central Government institutions operating in the state.
He indicated that updates involving Central Government entities are expected to be completed within about a year.
Existing Documents Will Remain Valid
To avoid confusion for citizens, the government clarified that all previously issued certificates, land deeds, legal documents and other official records will remain valid. No retroactive changes will be required for documents already in circulation.
Part of a Larger Linguistic Correction
The government described the exercise as an effort to preserve linguistic authenticity and cultural identity by aligning official spellings more closely with local pronunciation and usage.
Suresh Pujari drew parallels with earlier renaming exercises in India, noting that cities such as Bombay, Madras and Bangalore were officially changed to Mumbai, Chennai and Bengaluru respectively through legal and parliamentary processes.
Revenue Minister Suresh Pujari said.
Focus on Linguistic Accuracy
Officials said the initiative is intended to remove long-standing distortions in official English spellings and bring greater consistency across government records, signage and institutional names.
The first phase of updates is expected to begin shortly, with departments instructed to implement the revised spellings in official communication and records within the stipulated timeframe.
