Atal Innovation Mission and Bhashini sign pact to drive vernacular innovation across India

New Delhi, Aug 7 Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog, and Bhashini, the Digital India Bhashini Division (DIBD) under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), signed a Statement of Intent (SoI) to democratise access to innovation by breaking language barriers, NITI Aayog said in a statement on Thursday.

This strategic partnership aims to foster vernacular innovation and promote language inclusivity across India’s rapidly evolving innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem, the policy think tank body said.

According to the statement, the SoI was formalised during a meeting between the leadership from both sides, including Deepak Bagla, Mission Director of Atal Innovation Mission, and Amitabh Nag, Chief Executive Officer of Digital India Bhashini Division.

The discussion focused on collaborative strategies to embed language technology into AIM’s nationwide innovation programs.

As a first step, the content developed by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) Academy will be translated into multiple Indian languages using Bhashini’s tools, as part of the ongoing collaboration under the Joint Letter of Intent signed between AIM, NITI Aayog, and WIPO.

Opportunities for future gamification of learning content using Bhashini platforms may also be explored, NITI Aayog stated.

Startups and other stakeholders in the AIM ecosystem will be provided access to relevant tools and sandbox environments to support multilingual product development.

Through this collaboration, AIM and Bhashini also intend to jointly undertake multiple initiatives to support grassroots Innovators leveraging Bhashini’s language tools and technologies.

“This collaboration supports our broader goal of fostering inclusive innovation.

Existing AIM ecosystem, including Atal Incubation Centres (AICs) and Atal Community Innovation Centres (ACICs), and new Language Inclusive Program for Innovation (LIPI) centres will also explore the use of Bhashini’s platforms for skilling and capacity-building programmes at the grassroots level.

“Language should never be a barrier to innovation. Through this collaboration with Atal Innovation Mission, we aim to empower every Indian innovator-regardless of linguistic background, with the tools they need to participate fully in the digital and entrepreneurial revolution," said Amitabh Nag, CEO, Digital India Bhashini Division.

Bhashini’s language technologies will help bridge communication gaps and open new avenues for inclusive growth across the country.

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