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