India's multilingual AI model for the world

With Adi Vaani, India is offering not just cultural preservation at home but a model of inclusive, frugal, and globally replicable AI.

The Global Challenge

Languages are more than communication—they are carriers of heritage, ecological wisdom, and collective memory. Yet, according to UNESCO, nearly 50% of the world’s 7,000 languages could disappear by 2100, erasing knowledge systems accumulated over centuries.

• Every two weeks, one language dies.
  
• 40% of the global population has no access to education in a language they understand.
  
• In health, miscommunication due to linguistic exclusion directly impacts diagnosis and treatment adherence.
  

This is not just a cultural issue—it is a development challenge. Language inequity perpetuates poverty by excluding millions from education, healthcare, markets, and governance.

India’s Context and Urgency

India, with 461 tribal languages spoken by over 100 million citizens, is at the frontline of this crisis. Already, 123 tribal languages are endangered and 42 critically endangered. If neglected, the loss would not only fracture India’s cultural mosaic but also derail inclusive growth by weakening educational, health, and governance outcomes in tribal belts.

The Hon’ble Prime Minister’s vision under PM JANMAN and Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan (DAJGUA) has been clear: development must reach the last mile. Adi Vaani is a critical instrument of this vision—leveraging AI to ensure no community, no voice is left behind in the roadmap to Viksit Bharat @2047.

India’s AI Answer: Adi Vaani

Launched in 2025 under the Adi Karmayogi Abhiyan, Adi Vaani is the world’s first AI-powered tribal language bridge, designed with dual objectives:

Preserve endangered tribal languages through digitisation and AI tools.

Deliver services in mother tongues—covering education, healthcare, governance, agriculture, and cultural exchange.

The rationale is clear: when language is a barrier, development fails.

• Students drop out when textbooks aren’t in their language.
  
• Patients misinterpret prescriptions.
  
• Farmers miss climate and market advisories.
  
• Artisans are excluded from e-commerce.
  

Adi Vaani addresses these gaps by building a two-way bridge: amplifying tribal voices globally while bringing services into tribal languages.

How It Works

The platform integrates speech-to-text, speech-to-speech, OCR, and text-to-speech synthesis, validated by Tribal Research Institutes for cultural fidelity.

Current Coverage: Santali, Mundari, Gondi, Bhili (22 million speakers). Next: Kui and Garo.

Key Functionalities:

• Real-time classroom translation → reduces learning gaps.
  
• OCR digitisation of prescriptions, notices, and folklore → 96% accuracy.
  
• Bilingual dictionaries & folklore archives → 200+ community stories digitised.
  
• Policy communication translation → Mann Ki Baat, welfare guidelines.
  
• Human validation loop → ensuring not just accuracy but cultural sensitivity.
  

Scale Goals:

• By 2027: 30+ languages, 50 million speakers.
  
• By 2030: 50+ endangered tongues safeguarded, 100 million citizens reached.
  

Quantitative Edge: India’s Frugal AI

Adi Vaani embodies India’s frugal innovation ethos:

• Translation accuracy (BLEU up to 70) vs. global low-resource AI average (12–22).
  
• OCR accuracy 90–96%, applied to schoolbooks, health forms, and local notices.
  
• Voice synthesis (male + female models) even for languages global AI giants ignore.
  
• Corpus: 6.7 lakh bilingual sentences, co-curated with IIT Delhi, IIIT Hyderabad, IIIT Naya Raipur, and BITS Pilani.
  

Result: world-class outcomes at one-tenth global cost. This makes India a global first-mover in inclusive AI.

Transformative Use Cases

Education:Bilingual teaching reduces dropouts;

Healthcare:Telemedicine consultations in mother tongues;

Agriculture:Weather advisories in tribal languages;Digital kiosks deliver market-price forecasts.

Governance:Village kiosks explain entitlements in local dialects;Greater uptake of PM JANMAN,DAJGUA ,Scholarship schemes.

Culture:Oral traditions digitised ( songs and tales archived).

Economic Inclusion:E-commerce access for artisans;Tourism gains through multilingual digital guides.

Language becomes infrastructure for growth—unlocking education, markets, and governance.

Built in India, For the World

The Adi Vaani model rests on ecosystem innovation:

• Tribal Research Institutes → curated linguistic data.
  
• Top Indian technical institutes → AI backbone.
  
• Tribal youth digital ambassadors → community ownership.
  

This triple-helix ensures scalability and replicability. It is a ready model for multilingual nations in Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America.

The Road Ahead

• By 2027: 30+ languages, launch of India’s first Tribal Large Language Model (LLM).
  
• By 2030: 50+ endangered languages digitised, 10 crore citizens benefiting from healthcare translation, and a 20% cut in dropout rates in tribal schools.
  
• Global Repository: India to host the UN-backed AI repository for endangered languages, positioning Adi Vaani as a Digital Public Good.
  

India’s Global Offering

Aligned with the UNESCO International Decade of Indigenous Languages (2022–2032), India positions Adi Vaani not as a domestic project but as a global template for inclusive AI.

It shows how AI, when designed frugally and socially responsibly, can achieve what high-cost global models have ignored:

• cultural preservation,
  
• economic opportunity, and
  
• equitable development.
  

This is India’s strategic gift to humanity—ensuring no voice is unheard, no culture erased, and no citizen left behind in the march to progress.


The contributor is Secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this column are that of the writer. The facts and opinions expressed here do not reflect the views of www.economictimes.com)