Digital India, Kathmandu University Sign MoU to Advance Language AI, Multilingual Digital Infrastructure

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New Delhi, June 8 (APAC Media): 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 to strengthen collaboration in Language AI, multilingual digital public infrastructure, and inclusive digital ecosystems.

The agreement was signed by Amitabh Nag, CEO of the Digital India Bhashini Division, and Professor Bal Krishna Bal, Associate Dean of Kathmandu University, in the presence of External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Nepal’s Foreign Affairs Minister Shishir Khanal in New Delhi.

The partnership reflects the shared commitment of India and Nepal to extend cooperation in emerging technologies, digital transformation, and Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI).

BHASHINI goes beyond borders.
After transforming multilingual digital access across India, BHASHINI is now taking its voice first vision to Nepal.
In partnership with Kathmandu University, we are co-creating a Voice-First Language Translation Platform for Nepal.
Powered by AI.… pic.twitter.com/Z9zexhbZiP
— BHASHINI (@_BHASHINI) June 7, 2026

A key focus of the MoU is the development of high-quality Nepali language datasets, speech corpora, and multilingual AI resources.

The collaboration will support technologies such as speech-to-text, text-to-speech, machine translation, and multilingual conversational AI, helping make digital services more accessible to citizens.

The initiative will also support the preservation and digitisation of linguistic and literary heritage, particularly for low-resource and underrepresented languages across the India-Nepal region.

By bringing AI powered tools in touch with native languages, this partnership seeks to bridge language, literacy, and digital access barriers.

Importantly, the collaboration is expected to assist the Government of Nepal in delivering digital public services in citizens’ preferred languages, improving accessibility and user experience across government platforms.

In addition, both institutions will undertake joint research, capacity-building programmes, training initiatives, and pilot projects in areas such as Natural Language Processing (NLP), multilingual AI, and Digital Public Infrastructure.

The effort will bring together researchers, academic institutions, language experts from both the countries.

Officials said the partnership is expected to create new educational, economic, and social opportunities for Nepali citizens by expanding multilingual access to learning, skill development, digital commerce, and public services.

Beyond technology, the MoU is also aimed at strengthening people-to-people ties between the two countries while promoting greater inclusion through language-enabled digital innovation.