The Maharashtra government led by Eknath Shinde on Saturday issued a government resolution (GR) making it mandatory for all government employees to say 'Vande Mataram' instead of 'Hello' while receiving telephone or mobile phone calls, saying that the word 'hello' is an imitation of Western culture.

The employees working in the government or in government-funded institutions would use 'Vande Mataram' instead of 'hello' while receiving telephone or mobile phone calls from citizens or government officials, as per the government order.