Ministry of Panchayati Raj to Enhance Language Accessibility with AI Collaboration

Collaboration for Multilingual Governance

New Delhi, June 18: The Ministry of Panchayati Raj announced on Wednesday its plan to partner with Bhashini, the National Language Translation Mission under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). This collaboration aims to utilize advanced AI-driven language technologies to foster inclusivity and enhance accessibility within Panchayati Raj governance.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is set to be formalized on Thursday in New Delhi, with Union Minister of State for Panchayati Raj and Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Professor SP Singh Baghel, in attendance.

This initiative represents a strategic effort to broaden multilingual access across the ministry's digital platforms and outreach activities, facilitating greater public engagement in Panchayati Raj programs, discussions, and live events through sophisticated translation technologies.

This move is a significant advancement towards creating a fully multilingual environment on the ministry's platforms, empowering stakeholders, particularly elected officials, functionaries, and rural citizens, to engage with planning and governance systems in their native languages.

"The MoU will significantly improve language accessibility across the Ministry of Panchayati Raj's major portals and platforms, while also encouraging the use of AI-driven public digital infrastructure to strengthen Panchayati Raj Institutions and enhance participatory democracy at the grassroots level," stated the Ministry of Panchayati Raj.

During the event, a specially designed digital launch video will be presented, highlighting the integration of Bhashini with eGramSwaraj.

Earlier this month, the Digital India Bhashini Division (DIBD) and the Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS) joined forces to develop and implement multilingual AI solutions across essential public-facing railway platforms.

This partnership aims to incorporate Bhashini’s cutting-edge language technology, which includes Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR), Text-to-Text Translation, Text-to-Speech (TTS), and Optical Character Recognition (OCR), into CRIS-managed systems like the National Train Enquiry System (NTES) and RailMadad, allowing citizens to access vital railway services in 22 Indian languages.