Goa Hosts BHASHINI Rajyam Workshop to Promote Multilingual AI
The Digital India BHASHINI Division (DIBD), a part of the Digital India Corporation under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, collaborated with the Goa government’s Department of Information Technology, Electronics & Communications to hold the ‘BHASHINI Rajyam: State Engagement Workshop’ in Panaji. The event focused on advancing multilingual artificial intelligence (AI) and developing a language-first Digital Public Infrastructure. Attendees included policymakers, senior officials, industry leaders, academic figures, startups, and language experts, all convening to enhance digital inclusivity in governance.
Chief Minister Dr. Pramod Sawant and Minister for Information Technology, Electronics & Communications, Tourism, and Printing & Stationery, Shri Rohan A. Khaunte, were among the notable participants at the workshop, emphasizing a shared goal of making digital governance more accessible for all citizens.
Emphasizing Konkani and AI Technology
The workshop placed a special emphasis on the Konkani language, showcasing how AI-driven language technologies can help ensure that citizens can access government services and information in their preferred languages. The discussions highlighted the critical role multilingual AI plays in creating a voice-first digital environment where language barriers are minimized in public service delivery.
Keynote and Technical Sessions
In the inaugural session, esteemed speakers, including Shri Santosh Sukhdve, IAS, Secretary of the Department of Information Technology, Electronics & Communications, and Dr. Chandrakant Shetye, MLA and Chairman of InfoTech Corporation of Goa Ltd., addressed the audience. During his keynote, Shri Amitabh Nag, CEO of the Digital India BHASHINI Division, articulated the vision of a language-first Digital Public Infrastructure, noting its significant impact on various sectors such as governance, tourism, healthcare, and education.
Nag reinforced the need for enhanced collaboration among governments, academia, startups, and language experts to empower the Konkani language ecosystem and foster inclusive digital change. The workshop included demonstrations of AI applications like the BHASHINI App Mitra and BHASHINI Mitra, which illustrated how features like translation, speech recognition, and multilingual APIs can be embedded into government services.
Interactive Demonstrations and Discussions
Participants experienced live demonstrations of the AI language solutions, showcasing how these technologies can facilitate better governance by improving access to services and information in multiple languages. A dedicated session on the Konkani language ecosystem encouraged collaboration between various stakeholders to enhance AI models and language datasets pertinent to state-specific applications.
The Open Mic session invited dialogue on practical applications of multilingual AI in critical areas like governance, tourism, and healthcare, aiming to weave BHASHINI into Goa’s digital services to foster broader inclusion.
A Commitment to Language Inclusion
The workshop underscored the commitment of the BHASHINI initiative to work alongside state governments in constructing a language-first Digital Public Infrastructure. Minister Rohan Khaunte remarked on the workshop’s significance in building an inclusive digital landscape in Goa, stressing the importance of granting all citizens, even those in remote areas, access to essential services in Konkani.
Shri Amitabh Nag also addressed the challenges and opportunities presented by the BHASHINI platform, presenting a simulated scenario to illustrate how a Goan youth could interact seamlessly with public services through voice-enabled AI technologies. He emphasized the need for high-quality Konkani datasets to further empower public services.
About Digital India BHASHINI Division
The Digital India BHASHINI Division serves as India’s national platform for AI-driven multilingual digital accessibility. Powering over 800 government websites, it handles over 20 million AI inferences daily while supporting multiple Indian and international languages, thereby making Digital Public Infrastructure more equitable and functional through language AI solutions.
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