· 7 min read
Learn Hindi for Free: Official Routes
By Language Lab editorial team
Learn Hindi for free or nearly free through India's own institutions: a fully funded one-year course in Agra, LILA self-study tools and US$50 postal courses.
India's government runs several routes for foreigners who want to learn Hindi, and one of them is completely free. The Central Hindi Institute in Agra offers foreign students a one-year Hindi course described officially as a 100% free scholarship, covering return economy air fare, a gratis visa, hostel accommodation, three meals a day and a cash stipend. For self-study, the Department of Official Language has built LILA, a set of self-tutoring packages called Prabodh, Praveen and Pragya that take a learner from the basic to the advanced stage. And the Central Hindi Directorate teaches Hindi by correspondence for a small fee: US$50 a session for foreign students on its Certificate and Diploma courses. The BBC's archived guide to Hindi adds key phrases with audio.
The official options compared
| Route | Who runs it | Cost | Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| One-year Hindi course for foreign students | Central Hindi Institute, Agra, under the Ministry of Education | Free, with air fare, visa, hostel, meals and a stipend | Full-time classes in Agra |
| LILA: Prabodh, Praveen and Pragya | Department of Official Language, Ministry of Home Affairs, with C-DAC | Accessed by registering on the official site; no fee is stated | Self-tutoring packages, also as mobile apps |
| Certificate Course and Diploma Course in Hindi | Central Hindi Directorate, Ministry of Education | US$50 or £30 per session for foreign students | Correspondence; one year each |
| Advance Diploma Course in Hindi | Central Hindi Directorate | US$200 or £120 per session for foreign students | Correspondence; one year |
| A Guide to Hindi | BBC (archived) | Free to read and listen | Key phrases with audio and facts about the language |
The free scholarship in Agra
The fullest free route is also the most demanding: a year in India. According to the Indian High Commission's summary of Hindi learning facilities, the Ministry of Education, through its autonomous body the Central Hindi Institute in Agra, provides a one-year, 100% free Hindi scholarship to students from foreign countries under the government's Promotion of Hindi Abroad scheme. It is taught at the Institute's headquarters in Agra, Uttar Pradesh.
- Return economy-class air fare to Agra.
- A gratis visa.
- Accommodation in the Institute's hostel.
- Three meals a day and laundry.
- A scholarship paid in cash.
The High Commission that publishes this summary says it has sent 40 people from its country on the course, so the Indian embassy or high commission where you live is the place to ask how and when to apply.
LILA: self-study from the government
LILA stands for Learning Indian Languages through Artificial Intelligence. The official description calls its packages intelligent self-tutoring systems for Hindi, designed for government departments, banks and companies and also useful for other non-Hindi speakers who wish to learn Hindi from the basic to the advanced stage. The courses follow the Prabodh, Praveen and Pragya syllabus used in government Hindi teaching. They aim to give a basic functional knowledge of Hindi for simple day-to-day situations, plus a sound base in its core grammar.
The tools are reached through the Department of Official Language's websites after registration, and the official summary says their mobile apps can be downloaded from the Google Play Store. A companion tool called Pravah is listed alongside.
Correspondence courses: almost free
The Central Hindi Directorate has taught Hindi by post since 1968 to people in non-Hindi-speaking Indian states, Indians abroad and foreign nationals. It says nearly 10,000 students are on its rolls every year and more than 5.10 lakh, or 510,000, have benefited so far.
- Certificate Course in Hindi: one year, starting each July; taught through English, Tamil, Malayalam or Bangla.
- Diploma Course in Hindi: one year; for those who have passed the Certificate Course or have the required language skills.
- Advance Diploma Course in Hindi: one year, taught in Hindi; intended to provide adequate knowledge of Hindi language and literature.
- Fees for foreign students: US$50 or £30 per session for the Certificate and Diploma, US$200 or £120 for the Advance Diploma.
- The Directorate also publishes an English–Hindi Conversational Guide for students and tourists, with English, Hindi and a transliteration side by side.
Check the Directorate's current admission notice for eligibility. Its course page lists the Certificate and Diploma for people whose mother tongue is not Hindi, and the Advance Diploma for Indians and foreigners in India and abroad.
A free start today
- Learn the BBC's key phrases with audio: Namaste for hello and goodbye, Dhanyavad for thank you.
- Read the BBC's ten facts about Hindi so the grammar does not surprise you: the verb goes at the end, there are no articles, and nouns have gender.
- Register for LILA and work through Prabodh, the first package.
- Test yourself after each lesson and come back to it later. A 2013 review of learning research rated practice testing and distributed practice as high utility.
- If you want a certificate at low cost, apply for the Directorate's Certificate Course when the July session opens.
How far this takes you
Hindi is a serious undertaking for English speakers: the US State Department lists it in Category III, at about 44 weeks or 1,012 class hours to a speaking and listening score of 3 on the Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) scale. The official routes above give structure and, in the case of the Directorate, a certificate. What self-study tools cannot give is conversation. Language Lab's Hindi course is built around voiced real-life scenarios with an AI tutor, which adds that spoken practice.
Frequently asked
Can I learn Hindi for free?
Yes. India's Central Hindi Institute in Agra offers foreign students a one-year course described officially as a 100% free scholarship, and the BBC's archived guide to Hindi is free to use. Government correspondence courses cost foreign students US$50 a session.
Is there a free Hindi course from the Indian government?
The one-year course at the Central Hindi Institute, Agra, is free for selected foreign students and includes air fare, a gratis visa, hostel accommodation, meals and a stipend.
What is LILA Hindi?
LILA, Learning Indian Languages through Artificial Intelligence, is a set of self-tutoring packages for Hindi called Prabodh, Praveen and Pragya, developed for the Department of Official Language with C-DAC.
How much does the Central Hindi Directorate course cost?
For foreign students, US$50 or £30 per session for the Certificate Course and the Diploma Course, and US$200 or £120 for the Advance Diploma Course.
How long are the Directorate's Hindi courses?
One year each. The Certificate, Diploma and Advance Diploma sessions begin in July every year.
How long does Hindi take to learn?
The US State Department allows about 44 weeks, or 1,012 class hours, for English speakers to reach a speaking and listening score of 3 on the Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) scale.
Sources: High Commission of India, Port of Spain, Facilities of Hindi Learning and Scholarship in India, and Learning Indian Languages through Artificial Intelligence (LILA) (pages updated 12 October 2026); Central Hindi Directorate, Ministry of Education, Correspondence Courses; BBC Languages, A Guide to Hindi (archived); US Department of State, National Foreign Affairs Training Center, Foreign Language Training; Dunlosky et al., Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 2013. Checked on 13 October 2026. Photo: The Taj Mahal at sunrise, Agra, Creatorations / CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons).
