Ministry of Tribal Affairs to Launch the Beta Version of “Adi Vaani”

The Government of India, through its Ministry of Tribal Affairs, has released the Beta Version of Adi Vaani, an AI based translator of tribal languages. This project was implemented in the year 2008 on the basis of the Janjatiya Gaurav Varsh; this is geared towards ensuring communication differences between the tribal and the non-tribal groups in India are bridged without compromising the rich linguistic diversity of India. It is on the Play Store and will soon have iOS support and a dedicated web platform.

Key Features of Adi Vaani

• Real-Time Translation: Supports text and speech translation between Hindi/English and tribal languages.

• Interactive Language Learning: Helps students and early learners to learn tribal languages.

• Cultural Preservation: Scans folklore, oral tradition and manuscripts with the OCR technology.

• Public Awareness: Provides subtitles for Prime Minister’s speeches, health advisories, and government schemes.

• Inclusive Toolkit: features Text-to-Text, Text-to-Speech, Speech-to-Text, Speech-to-Speech, bilingual dictionaries, and curated repositories.

Scope & Languages in Beta Launch

Supported Languages:

• Santali (Odisha)

• Bhili (Madhya Pradesh)

• Mundari (Jharkhand)

• Gondi (Chhattisgarh)

• Future Languages: Kui, Garo, and so on.

Methodology & Technology

• AI Models: Uses No Language Left Behind (NLLB) and IndicTrans2 when dealing with low-resource tribal languages.

• Community involvement: Data collection, validation and recidivism development involves community participation by tribal Research Institutes (TRIs), experts and local communities.

• Partner Colleges: IIT Delhi, BITS Pilani, IIIT Hyderabad, IIIT Naya Raipur and TRIs in Jharkhand, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh and Meghalaya.

Impact & Way Forward

• Cultural Preservation: Digitizes and safeguards tribal knowledge and languages at risk of extinction.

• Empowerment: Supports education, healthcare communication, and civic participation in tribal regions.

• Inclusive Governance: Ensures last-mile delivery of government schemes in tribal languages.

• Global Leadership: Places India as a leader in AI-based protection of endangered languages.

• Alignment with National Missions: Contributes to Digital India, Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat, Adi Karmayogi Abhiyan, and Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan.

Conclusion

Adi Vaani is an innovative move to maintain tribal languages and culture and improve education, government, and inclusion in tribal regions. The program encourages the people, teachers and cultural laborers to join hands in the preservation of the tribal lingual heritage of India.