BHASHINI, Kathmandu University Partner to Build Nepal’s Voice-First Language AI Platform
India-Nepal partnership aims to advance multilingual AI, digital public infrastructure and inclusive access to services across languages
Amitabh Nag, CEO of the Digital India BHASHINI Division, and Prof. Bal Krishna Bal, Associate Dean of Kathmandu University, exchange the MoU for collaboration on multilingual AI and digital public infrastructure in the presence of external affairs minister S. Jaishankar and Nepal's foreign affairs minister Shishir Khanal during bilateral engagements in New Delhi on Saturday.
New Delhi: The Digital India BHASHINI Division (DIBD) under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Kathmandu University’s Centre for Digital Public Infrastructure and Artificial Intelligence (DPI-AI) to collaborate on the development of language AI technologies and multilingual digital public infrastructure for Nepal.
The agreement establishes a framework for cooperation between the two institutions in areas including speech recognition, machine translation, multilingual conversational AI, language data creation and digital inclusion initiatives.
The MoU was signed by Amitabh Nag, CEO of the Digital India BHASHINI Division, and Prof. Bal Krishna Bal, Associate Dean of Kathmandu University. The exchange took place in the presence of external affairs minister S. Jaishankar and Nepal’s foreign affairs minister Shishir Khanal during bilateral engagements held in New Delhi on Saturday.
The collaboration is expected to support the creation of a voice-first language translation platform and digital public infrastructure tailored to Nepal’s linguistic landscape. Officials said the initiative reflects a shared commitment by India and Nepal to leverage emerging technologies for inclusive development, social empowerment and regional cooperation.
Under the partnership, the two organisations will jointly develop high-quality Nepali language datasets, speech corpora and multilingual AI resources. The collaboration will focus on technologies such as speech-to-text, text-to-speech, machine translation and multilingual conversational AI systems.
A key objective of the initiative is the preservation and digitisation of linguistic and literary heritage, particularly for low-resource and underrepresented languages across the India-Nepal region. The project aims to ensure that communities whose languages face the risk of digital exclusion can access technology and public services in their mother tongue.
Through BHASHINI’s open and interoperable language technology ecosystem, the partnership is expected to help the Government of Nepal deliver digital public services in citizens’ preferred languages. Officials said the effort would reduce language, literacy and digital access barriers, particularly for people in remote and underserved areas.
The MoU also provides for joint research programmes, academic collaborations, capacity-building initiatives, training programmes and pilot projects in natural language processing, multilingual AI and digital public infrastructure. Universities, researchers, language experts and technology practitioners from both countries are expected to participate in these initiatives.
According to the two institutions, the collaboration could create new opportunities in education, skill development, digital commerce and public service delivery by enabling multilingual access to digital platforms and services.
Speaking on the occasion, Amitabh Nag said the partnership marks an important step in extending inclusive language technology beyond India’s borders and strengthening multilingual AI capabilities across South Asia.
Prof. Bal Krishna Bal said the collaboration reflects a shared commitment by Nepal and India to harness artificial intelligence for linguistic inclusion and social impact while ensuring that language diversity becomes an enabler of digital participation rather than a barrier.
About BHASHINI
BHASHINI is India’s national initiative for AI-driven multilingual digital inclusion and language technology. Through the National Hub for Language Technology, the platform provides speech and text-based AI services across multiple Indian languages for government departments, public platforms and institutions.
According to MeitY, BHASHINI currently supports 36 Indian text languages, 23 Indian voice languages and 35 international languages. The platform powers more than 800 government websites and processes over 15 million AI inferences every day.
Strengthening India-Nepal Digital Cooperation
The MoU adds a new dimension to the growing digital cooperation between India and Nepal by combining language technology, artificial intelligence and digital public infrastructure. Policymakers view the initiative as a model for cross-border collaboration in building inclusive digital ecosystems that can serve diverse linguistic communities across the Global South.
