In a country as linguistically diverse as India, language can serve both as a unifier and a barrier. With over hundreds of languages and dialects spoken across its length and breadth, linguistic diversity is a cornerstone of Indian identity. However, this diversity often presents challenges, especially in the digital era, where access to information and services predominantly occurs in English or Hindi. Recognising this critical need to address this disparity, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) created the Digital India Bhashini Division. This initiative, under the National Language Translation Mission (NLTM), aims to transcend linguistic barriers and enable seamless digital inclusivity for all Indians.

Vision Behind Bhashini

Unveiled during Digital India Week in July 2022 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Bhashini embodies the government’s vision of an inclusive digital ecosystem. Its mission is to empower citizens by providing access to digital services in their native languages. The initiative focuses on harnessing the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to create language models and technologies that facilitate translation, speech recognition and other language-based services across 22 scheduled Indian languages. Bhashini operates under the mantra of fostering collaboration. By partnering with over 70 research institutions across the country, it has successfully brought cutting-edge AI-driven language solutions to the forefront. This collaboration exemplifies how academia, government and industry can work together to address societal
challenges. The National Hub of Language Technology (NHLT), the backbone of Bhashini, hosts a plethora of AI models that are available as open APIs to developers and innovators.

Transforming Lives Across Sectors

The impact of Bhashini extends far and wide, touching the lives of millions across various sectors. Its integration into key governance, agricultural, judicial and educational systems has transformed how citizens interact with public services.

Agriculture and Rural Governance

One of Bhashini’s most remarkable implementations is in agriculture through its integration with the PM Kisan Chatbot. Farmers, often hindered by language barriers, can now access critical scheme-related information in their mother tongues. This has helped over 11 crore farmers navigate the complexities of government schemes, ensuring timely access to benefits. In rural governance, the e-Gram Swaraj platform has been enhanced with Bhashini’s multilingual capabilities. Local governance processes, often inaccessible due to language hurdles, are now available in 22 Indian languages, benefiting 2.7 lakh village Panchayats. This has fostered transparency, improved citizen engagement and empowered local communities.

Access to Justice

The judicial system, known for its reliance on English, has long posed challenges for non-English-speaking litigants. Bhashini’s solutions, such as translating case documents and FIRs from vernacular languages to English and vice versa, have significantly reduced delays in court proceedings
The multilingual Nyaya Setu chatbot provides legal guidance in regional languages, ensuring that citizens can access justice without needing an intermediary. This innovation addresses one of the most critical barriers in the legal system–accessibility

Transportation and Public Services

The National Train Enquiry System (NTES) and the RailMadad platform have integrated Bhashini’s technology to offer services in nine regional languages. Train schedules, station names and even grievances are now accessible to over 200 million citizens in their preferred language. This has simplified travel for millions, particularly in rural and semiurban areas. Citizen grievance redressal platforms, such as CPGRAMS, have also benefited from Bhashini. Complaints can now be filed in local languages and translated into English for faster resolution. This bi-directional translation ensures that responses are comprehensible to citizens in their native language, bridging the gap between the government and its people.

Education and Skill Development

Bhashini’s contributions to education are groundbreaking. Rural schools, often plagued by a lack of resources, now use an ASR-based app to improve English pronunciation. The app identifies pronunciation errors and provides instant feedback, enabling students to learn effectively, even in remote areas with limited Internet connectivity
In primarily Hindi speaking states, this technology has been deployed to address pronunciation challenges amongst students, significantly enhancing their confidence and language skills. By combining offline functionality with cutting-edge AI, Bhashini ensures that learning is inclusive and accessible, regardless of connectivity issues.

Overcoming Challenges

Bhashini’s journey has not been without hurdles. One of the primary challenges was the lack of digital data for many Indian languages. To address this, the division employed innovative approaches, such as crowdsourcing audio samples from citizens through mobile apps. These contributions formed the foundation for creating datasets and developing AI models. Technical challenges, such as integrating solutions with legacy systems and ensuring data privacy, were tackled through robust engineering and user feedback. Offline capabilities were developed to address the issue of inconsistent Internet connectivity, ensuring that Bhashini’s solutions reach even the most remote areas.

Driving Success

Bhashini’s suite of AI tools and features sets it apart as a global leader in linguistic technology. Some of its most innovative solutions include:
• Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR): Enables real-time transcription and translation of speech in 22 Indian languages.
• Text-to-Speech (TTS): Converts digital text into human-like speech, making information accessible to those with low literacy levels.
• Optical Character Recognition (OCR): Translates printed andhandwritten materials into digital text, facilitating seamless access to information.
• Voice Activity Detection: Ensures accurate sentence segmentation for translation, preserving context and meaning.
• Inverse Text Normalisation: Converts numerical and symbolic data into meaningful text for specific applications, such as financial transactions.

Scaling New Heights

Bhashini is not just about language translation; it is about creating a comprehensive ecosystem for digital inclusion. Its speech-to-speech translation system supports 11 Indian and 14 international languages, positioning India as a pioneer in linguistic technology. By making these technologies available as open APIs, Bhashiniinvites startups and tech companies to innovate further. Plans for the future include expanding language support to lesser-spoken dialects, integrating AI solutions into voice-based UPI payments and developing personalised applications for sectors like healthcare and e-governance. Bhashini’s infrastructure, built on a resilient multi-cloud platform, ensures scalability and adaptability to meet growing demands.

Human-Centric Mission

At its core, Bhashini is about empowering people. It is about the farmer who can access crop information in his native tongue, the villager who can lodge a grievance without language barriers and the student who can confidently speak in a second language. The initiative’s human-centric approach ensures that technology serves as a tool for inclusion, equity and empowerment.