Team siliconindia

• Ministry of Tribal Affairs to launch ‘Adi Vaani’, India’s first AI translator for tribal languages.
• Aims to support tribal education, cultural preservation, and inclusive governance.
• Developed by top institutions like IIT Delhi, BITS Pilani, and Tribal Research Institutes.

In a major step toward preserving linguistic diversity and strengthening tribal education, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs is set to launch ‘Adi Vaani’, India’s first AI powered tribal language translator. The initiative aims to empower tribal communities through access to education, public services, and cultural preservation in their native languages.

Developed in collaboration with premier institutions including IIT Delhi, BITS Pilani, IIIT Hyderabad, IIIT Nava Raipur, and various Tribal Research Institutes (TRIs), the platform will initially support four tribal languages, Santali (Odisha), Bhili (Madhya Pradesh), Mundari (Jharkhand), and Gondi (Chhattisgarh). More languages like Kui and Garo will be added in the next phase.

Adi Vaani uses advanced AI models like No Language Left Behind (NLLB) and IndicTrans2 to offer real time translation between Hindi/English and tribal languages. The tool will feature text to speech, speech to text, and optical character recognition (OCR) to digitize both written and oral tribal traditions, enabling greater access to learning materials and local history.

The platform goes beyond simple translation it will help deliver government schemes, health advisories, and educational content directly in tribal languages. For example, subtitles for the Prime Minister’s speeches and awareness about diseases like sickle cell anemia will now be made accessible to tribal populations in their mother tongue.

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The ministry described the initiative as a ‘national mission’ to protect tribal identity, promote inclusive education, and place India at the forefront of AI driven language preservation. Adi Vaani also aligns with national programs like Digital India, Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat, and PM JANMAN, reinforcing the government’s push for inclusive development and digital empowerment.