In a significant move to blend technology with education and safeguard the country’s rich linguistic diversity, the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 has set the stage for several transformative initiatives. The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) is spearheading efforts with the Bhasha Sangam programme and the Machine Translation cell, which are working to translate various educational books into multiple scheduled languages.
To further this effort, the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and the University Grants Commission (UGC) have adopted the Anuvadini App, translating undergraduate and postgraduate textbooks, including technical literature, into several Indian languages. These translated resources are accessible through the e-KUMBH portal.
Moreover, major entrance exams like the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), Joint Entrance Exam (JEE), and Common University Entrance Test (CUET) are now available in 13 languages. Engineering courses are being offered in eight regional languages in AICTE-approved institutions, and the Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing (DIKSHA) portal provides course materials in 33 Indian languages.
Adding to these advancements, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has launched ASMITA (Augmenting Study Materials in Indian Languages through Translation and Academic Writing), a new initiative aimed at bolstering the role of Indian languages in education.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) introduced Mission Digital India Bhashini in 2022 to develop open-source core language technologies for 22 Scheduled Indian languages. The Bhashini open APIs for text and voice translation are now available on API Setu, allowing for seamless integration with various applications.
This comprehensive integration of technology in education not only facilitates multilingual access to educational resources but also underscores India’s commitment to preserving its linguistic diversity.