Govt set to roll out 'Adi Vaani', AI translator for tribal languages

The Tribal Affairs Ministry will soon launch "Adi Vaani", India's first artificial intelligence (AI)-powered translator for tribal languages, in a move aimed at preserving the country's rich linguistic diversity and empowering tribal communities.

Developed by IIT Delhi, BITS Pilani, IIIT Hyderabad and IIIT Nava Raipur, in collaboration with Tribal Research Institutes (TRIs), the initiative combines advanced AI tools with community participation to bridge communication gaps and safeguard endangered tribal languages.

The app will be available on the Play Store with an iOS version coming soon. It will initially support Santali (Odisha), Bhili (Madhya Pradesh), Mundari (Jharkhand) and Gondi (Chhattisgarh). Languages such as Kui and Garo will be added in the next phase.

According to the Census 2011, Scheduled Tribes in India speak 461 languages and 71 distinct mother tongues. Of these, 81 are classified as vulnerable and 42 critically endangered. Many face extinction due to lack of documentation and weak intergenerational transmission.

Adi Vaani uses AI models like No Language Left Behind (NLLB) and IndicTrans2 to enable real-time translation between Hindi/English and tribal languages.

It will also provide text-to-speech, speech-to-text and optical character recognition (OCR) features to digitise manuscripts and oral traditions.

The ministry said the platform will be used to deliver awareness on government schemes, health advisories such as sickle cell disease prevention and subtitles for the prime minister's speeches in tribal languages.

The ministry, in a statement, said the project aims to digitise folklore, preserve cultural heritage, support education and healthcare in tribal regions and ensure last-mile delivery of public services in native languages.

It described Adi Vanni as a "national mission" to protect tribal identity, promote inclusive governance and position India as a global leader in AI-driven preservation of endangered languages, the ministry said.

The initiative aligns with flagship programmes such as Digital India, Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat, Adi Karmayogi Abhiyan, Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan and PM JANMAN, it said.