STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: Voice-based artificial intelligence has opened a new era of communication in India, allowing speakers of different languages to converse seamlessly in their own mother tongues. This technological shift gained fresh momentum on Sunday as Assamese, Bodo and other regional languages of Assam were formally integrated into the Government of India's multilingual digital platform, Bhashini, developed under the Digital India National Language Technology Mission.
To advance this collaboration, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and the Assam Government signed a Memorandum of Understanding in Guwahati. Assam IT Minister Keshab Mahanta and Chief Secretary Dr. Ravi Kota was present at the signing, which took place between State IT Principal Secretary Gopinath Narayan and Amitabh Nag, CEO of the Digital India Bhashini Division.
The platform aims to eliminate language barriers in governance and public services by enabling people to communicate with administrative systems in their native languages through AI-driven speech recognition, translation and conversational tools. Under the MoU, the Digital India Bhashini Division will support Assam in expanding the digital presence of Assamese, Bodo and other indigenous languages; promoting their use across government departments; and enhancing citizen-centric services in local languages.
Speaking at the event, Minister Mahanta described language as central to personal and collective identity. He said the inclusion of Assamese and other regional languages in Bhashini aligns with the spirit of Clause 6 of the Assam Accord and carries this cultural responsibility into the digital sphere. He added that real-time AI translation now allows people to communicate across languages while speaking in their mother tongues.
Mahanta also inaugurated a state-level workshop, Bhashini Rajyam, attended by officials from various departments, academic institutions and literary organizations. He urged participants to draft initial action plans to increase the use of Assamese and other regional languages in daily administrative work. Addressing the gathering, Chief Secretary Dr. Ravi Kota called the MoU a visionary step that would help build a digital administration accessible to all citizens. He said meaningful communication is strongest in one's mother tongue, and the presence of Assamese and other local languages on Bhashini will strengthen the state's linguistic landscape.
Bhashini CEO Amitabh Nag stated that the platform currently supports 36 Indian languages and is being used across sectors such as agriculture, healthcare, education, governance and tourism. He said citizens using the Bhashini app can communicate with speakers of different languages through voice or text and can access government services without facing linguistic barriers.
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