Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's most used Hindi word Aatmanirbhar Bharat has been named as the Hindi word of 2020 by Oxford. It may be recalled that PM Modi gave a push to self-reliance which he termed 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' when the country was battling the onset of coronavirus. Oxford picked this word as it chronicled the day to day struggles of Indians on a daily basis.

An advisory panel comprising language experts Poonam Nigam Sahay, Imogen Foxell, Kritika Agrawal chose the word. Oxford chooses Hindi word of the year depending on its long standing usage with lasting potential. With an increase in the usage of the word and its popularity on a day to day basis by Indians, Atmanirbhar Bharat was widely used after PM Modi's speech on coronavirus in which he emphasised on the importance of being self-reliant.

The Atmanirbhar Bharat campaign gave a major boost to manufacturing COVID vaccine in India on a large-scale which truly reflects the success of the campaign.

Sivaramarkrishnan Venkateswaran, Oxford University Press India managing director, said: "In an unprecedented year, aatmanirbharta found resonance with a wide cross-section of people as it is seen to be an answer to the revival of a Covid-impacted economy."

Aadhar, Nari Shakti and Samvidhaan are the other words which were declared Oxford Hindi word of the year.