- Bhashini, a small team at the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY), is currently developing a WhatsApp-based chatbot that uses information generated by ChatGPT to respond to queries.
- One of these initiatives, ‘Bhashini,’ is a local language translation mission that aims to break down barriers between various Indian languages by utilising available technology.
- This government platform aims to make AI and Natural Language Processing (NLP) resources available in the public domain for use by Indian MSMEs, startups, and individual innovators.
- This will enable developers to provide easy access to the internet and digital services in all Indian languages to all Indians.
How does it function?
- The project can be found at https://www.bhashini.gov.in/en/.
- Its goal is to create an ecosystem in which various stakeholders can collaborate to maintain a “ever-evolving repository of data, training and benchmark datasets, open models, tools, and technologies.”
- This online platform also has a separate ‘Bhashadaan’ section that allows people to contribute to a variety of crowdsourcing initiatives, and it is accessible via Android and iOS apps.
- Users can contribute in four ways: Suno India, Likho India, Bolo India, and Dekho India, where they must type what they hear or validate texts transcribed by others.
The significance of Bhashini
- Bhashini hopes to break down the massive Indian language barrier by encouraging developers to provide digital services in Indian languages.
- The project not only has a massive size and magnitude, but it also has a number of advantages.
- India has the opportunity to develop a road map for allowing local languages to access the internet.
- Furthermore, the increased availability of smartphones and lower data rates are allowing the internet to penetrate the country’s remote and rural areas.
Important initiatives in this regard
- Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the National Language Translation Mission (NLTM) in the 2021-22 budget.
- The reason for launching this mission was a survey that found that 53% of Indians who don’t use the internet said they would start using it if it had content in their native languages.
- This is where Bhashini enters the picture, with the sole goal of creating a national digital public platform for languages to provide universal access to content.
- This is expected to improve digital content delivery in all Indian languages.
- Finally, it will contribute to the development of a knowledge-based society in which information is freely and readily available, transforming the ecosystem and citizens into “Atmanirbhar.”
Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/gadgets-news/explained-what-is-bhashini-and-how-it-can-bridge-the-gap-between-indian-languages/articleshow/93928335.cms