The Digital India BHASHINI Division participated in the Goa AI Tech Conclave 2026, launching the BHASHINI Konkani Large Language Model and demonstrating speech-to-speech translation technology. The event emphasized the potential of AI to preserve India's cultural heritage.
The Digital India BHASHINI Division, under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), participated in the Goa AI Tech Conclave 2026 held on 22–23 October at INOX, Panaji. Organized by the Department of Information Technology, Electronics and Communications, Government of Goa under the theme 'AI for People, Planet and Progress', the event aimed to highlight the potential of AI in various sectors.
During the inaugural session, BHASHINI launched the BHASHINI Konkani Large Language Model (LLM), aiming to strengthen AI's ability to understand and generate Konkani across text and speech. The initiative builds on Goa’s existing linguistic strengths and ongoing efforts to preserve and promote Konkani.
The presentation by the BHASHINI team outlined their approach to building the Konkani LLM, highlighting the importance of high-quality language data, content generation, and human validation. They also discussed Bhasha Daan and the proposed Data Daan pilot, which can bring together educational institutions, language experts, and Konkani-speaking communities to expand language resources and strengthen the foundation for Konkani AI.
Hon’ble Chief Minister of Goa, Dr. Pramod Sawant, spoke about BHASHINI and Bhasha Daan in the context of advancing Konkani language AI. He emphasized the potential of AI to research, document, and preserve India’s civilisational knowledge and Goa’s cultural heritage.
BHASHINI's language technology was deployed during the inaugural session, enabling real-time speech translation and transcription of addresses by the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Goa, the Hon’ble IT Minister, and other dignitaries. The deployment demonstrated how BHASHINI’s speech technologies can facilitate multilingual communication through Konkani-to-English and English-to-Konkani translation.
At the BHASHINI exhibition stall, visitors experienced live demonstrations of its language technology solutions and applications. A key highlight was the welcome extended to the Hon’ble IT Minister in English, which was translated into Konkani in real time using BHASHINI’s speech-to-speech translation technology.
Alongside Bhasha Daan, can support the digitization of Konkani’s literary and cultural heritage, including books, manuscripts, and literary works. This effort can help preserve folk tales, local histories, and the memories and lived experiences of senior citizens, creating a richer digital repository of Konkani language and heritage for future generations and AI applications.
Source:
Press Information Bureau
