On March 11, 2014, the Ministry of Culture of the Centre vide a notification that had granted classical language status to Odia and Malayalam languages and Odia language was accorded the status of sixth classical language.
Odisha Government in 2015, decided to celebrate this auspicious day as Sashtriya Odia Bhasa Divas.
The Government of India has awarded as classical language status to Sanskrit, Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam and Odia.