The BHASHINI Rajyam Workshop, organized by the Digital India BHASHINI Division and the Department of Information Technology, Government of Manipur, aimed to explore opportunities for advancing multilingual artificial intelligence. The event highlighted the potential of AI and language technology in promoting India's linguistic diversity and expanding opportunities for Manipur's communities.
On October 14, 2026, the Digital India BHASHINI Division (DIBD), under the Digital India Corporation (DIC), Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India, collaborated with the Department of Information Technology, Government of Manipur to host the BHASHINI Rajyam Workshop in Imphal. The event aimed to investigate opportunities for advancing multilingual artificial intelligence and strengthening language technology, with a focus on integrating Indian language solutions into government and citizen-facing digital services.
The programme was graced by Shri Yumnam Khemchand Singh, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Manipur. A key outcome of the workshop was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between DIBD and the Government of Manipur, represented by Shri Amitabh Nag, CEO, DIBD, and Shri Somorjit Salam, IAS, Secretary, Information Technology, Government of Manipur.
Addressing the gathering, Shri Yumnam Khemchand Singh, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Manipur, highlighted the potential of artificial intelligence and language technology to promote India’s linguistic diversity and expand opportunities for the state’s communities. “Through artificial intelligence and language technology, we are promoting India's diverse languages and exploring opportunities to bring more of Manipur’s languages into the digital space. Our linguistic diversity is a valuable strength as we move forward,” he said.
Shri Somorjit Salam, IAS, Secretary, Information Technology, Government of Manipur, emphasised that digital services must be accessible and meaningful to the people they are intended to serve. “Digital services are effective only when people can understand and use them confidently. Through BHASHINI, we can address language barriers with carefully tested solutions that respond to Manipur’s needs and deliver lasting public benefit,” he said.
The workshop provided an overview of BHASHINI’s Language-First Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and its multilingual AI ecosystem, highlighting the role of language datasets, AI models, APIs and applications in enabling digital services across languages. Discussions explored how these capabilities could be integrated into government platforms and citizen-facing applications to support more accessible service delivery.
A live demonstration of real-time English-to-Manipuri translation showcased the potential of language technology to bridge communication gaps. The session also highlighted the importance of building digital language resources and validating language models using relevant data, with inputs from language experts and local communities, to improve their usefulness in real-world settings.
Source:
Press Information Bureau
