Official Correspondence and Government Drafting Conventions
This domain tests the Hindi administrative letter and the drafting register of government offices: the fixed skeleton of a formal letter, the impersonal style of official Hindi, and the correct terms for the document types a typist is asked to produce.
Skeleton of a Hindi official letter
- प्रेषक - office name and address
- क्रमांक - file number
- दिनांक - date
- सेवा में - designation and address of the addressee
- विषय - subject, a phrase, no full stop
- संदर्भ - reference, if any
- महोदय / महोदया
- Body, opening with सविनय निवेदन है कि… or अनुरोध है कि…
- भवदीय / आपका विश्वासी, signature, name, designation
- प्रतिलिपि - copies to
Register
Official Hindi avoids the first person: इस कार्यालय द्वारा, आपको सूचित किया जाता है कि, निर्देशानुसार, कृपया अवगत कराने का कष्ट करें. प्रिय belongs to personal letters; official letters use महोदय/महोदया or the bare designation. Document types you may be asked to lay out include कार्यालय ज्ञापन, परिपत्र, अधिसूचना, अनुस्मारक and अर्धसरकारी पत्र.
Worked example
Rough note: annual function on 12 September 2024, invite the chief guest. Subject line: विषय: राजकीय महाविद्यालय के वार्षिक उत्सव, दिनांक 12 सितम्बर, 2024 हेतु मुख्य अतिथि को आमंत्रण के संबंध में। The reasoning: the topic comes first, the occasion and date sit inside the phrase, it closes with के संबंध में, takes no full stop, and stays within two lines.
Traps
Writing the subject as a full sentence with a full stop; using प्रिय महोदय in an official letter; omitting प्रतिलिपि when copies are asked for; slipping into first person and personal closings; placing दिनांक before क्रमांक.