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BHASHINI Samudaye Workshop Boosts India’s Multilingual AI Ecosystem
Summary: India takes a major leap towards inclusive Artificial Intelligence as MeitY’s Digital India BHASHINI Division hosts BHASHINI Samudaye, uniting government, academia, civil society, and industry to strengthen a citizen-driven multilingual AI ecosystem.
India Strengthens Its Language AI Mission
NewDelhi,January13,2026,PIB,Delhi:India’s journey towards a truly inclusive digital society gained strong momentum with the successful organisation of “BHASHINI Samudaye: Strengthening India’s Language AI Ecosystem” by the Digital India BHASHINI Division (DIBD) under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
Held at Nalanda Hall, Dr Ambedkar International Centre, New Delhi, the workshop was organised in collaboration with Wadhwani AI and marked a significant step in consolidating India’s sovereign, ethical, and participatory language AI ecosystem.
What is BHASHINI and Why It Matters
- BHASHINI: Breaking India’s Language Barriers
BHASHINI is India’s national language AI platform under the National Language Translation Mission (NLTM). Its goal is to ensure that language never becomes a barrier to governance, education, healthcare, and digital services.
Focus on Public Digital Infrastructure
The initiative is anchored in Public Digital Infrastructure (PDI), ensuring:
- Open and interoperable platforms
- Ethical and responsible data use
- Community and citizen participation
- Inclusion of scheduled, non-scheduled languages and dialects
High-Level Participation and Shared Vision
Leadership from Government and Institutions
Senior leadership from MeitY and the Digital India BHASHINI Division outlined a clear vision for building a coordinated national language AI ecosystem, driven by collaboration and shared ownership.
Multi-Stakeholder Engagement
The workshop brought together:
- Language and AI experts
- Academic institutions
- Civil society organisations
- Data practitioners
- Technology and ecosystem partners
This diverse participation reinforced BHASHINI’s role as a national, community-driven AI mission.
Key Discussions: From Rules to AI at Scale
Evolution of BHASHINI
A special fireside session reflected on BHASHINI’s evolution:
- From rule-based language systems
- To AI-powered multilingual engines
- Designed to serve governance, education, and public services
The discussion highlighted that ecosystem partnerships are critical to scaling multilingual AI across India.
Key Sessions and Workshop Highlights
Scaling BHASHINI Together
Focused sessions explored:
- Platform capabilities
- Strategic priorities
- Collaboration pathways with states, institutions, and partners
BHASHINI Roadmap Presentation
Officials presented BHASHINI’s future plans for:
- Platform expansion
- Deeper ecosystem engagement
- Wider language coverage
BHASHINI Samudaye Platform
Structured presentations and partner feedback aimed at strengthening:
- Participatory governance
- Collaborative contribution mechanisms
- Shared responsibility models
BHASHINI in Action
Live demonstrations showcased:
- Real-world language AI use cases
- Translation and speech solutions
A walkthrough of BhashaDaan, the citizen contribution platform encouraging public participation in language data creation
Expression of Interest (EoI) for Data Systems
- Strengthen multilingual data partnerships
- Align contributors with ethical and inclusive data standards
- Support scalable AI development
Responsible Data and Long-Term Sustainability
Key Takeaways from Deliberations
Participants engaged in deep discussions on:
- Collaborative data creation
- Institutional partnerships
- Data quality and standards
- Long-term sustainability of language AI
The emphasis remained on responsible, bias-aware, and inclusive data practices.
Voices from the Dignitaries
Government Leadership
“BHASHINI has moved from rule-based systems to AI-powered inclusive engines, ensuring language services reach every citizen.”
- Shri Amitabh Nag, CEO, Digital India BHASHINI Division
*“Samudaye is a living ecosystem where creators, governments, and users co-develop language technology with shared value and responsibility.”
“Through partnerships, BHASHINI ensures language never becomes a barrier to opportunity or governance.”
- Shri Tarun Pandey, Scientist ‘E’, MeitY
Academic and Industry Perspectives
“Structured dataset creation and community participation are essential for AI systems that reflect India’s linguistic diversity.”
- Prof. Girish Nath Jha, Jawaharlal Nehru University
“BHASHINI’s comprehensive translation approach ensures no language-scheduled or non-scheduled-is left behind.”
- Smt. Shobha L., AU-KBC Research Centre
“With BHASHINI, we are translating content into multiple languages to reach children and caregivers across India.”
- Sukhna Sawhney, Rocket Learning
Launch of Dataset Onboarding Supporting Team (DOST)
Strengthening India’s AI Data Backbone
As part of the initiative, BHASHINI - in collaboration with the Gates Foundation and implemented by Civic Data Lab-launched the Dataset Onboarding Supporting Team (DOST).
What DOST Will Do
- Identify high-value multilingual datasets
- Support dataset preparation and onboarding
- Strengthen AI Kosh and BHASHINI platforms
- Address gaps in text, speech, and regional data
Sectors to Benefit
- Governance
- Education
- Healthcare
- Agriculture
- Climate and sustainability
Towards an Inclusive and Citizen-Centric Digital India
The presence of senior officials, academics, civil society organisations, and ecosystem partners reaffirmed a shared national vision-to make AI inclusive, ethical, scalable, and citizen-first.
The BHASHINI Samudaye workshop concluded with a strong commitment to:
- Shared ownership
- Coordinated national action
- Long-term collaboration
Ensuring that language never remains a barrier to digital inclusion and that Artificial Intelligence becomes a tool for social and economic empowerment across India.
BHASHINILanguageAIIndia,NationalLanguageTranslationMission,Multilingual AI Digital India
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