Karnataka To Use AI Tool Bhashini To Localise Government Services
Karnataka to adopt AI language tool Bhashini to localise digitised government services across regional dialects and languages.
Karnataka will adopt AI-powered language tool Bhashini to make government services more accessible in local languages and dialects. This move comes at a time when the state is looking to use AI and voice technologies across its citizen-service ecosystem.
Priyank Kharge, Minister for Home, Information Technology, Biotechnology and E-Governance, announced the move after inaugurating a Bhashini workshop organised by the Department of E-Governance for government officials at Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru.
The workshop focused on how AI-powered language and voice technologies could be used to make government services simpler, more inclusive and more citizen-centric.
Per a report carried by The Hindu, Kharge said that Karnataka’s linguistic and cultural diversity makes language an important consideration in how digital government services are designed.
“Karnataka is one state, but it is many worlds. Our language, dialects and cultural contexts vary significantly across regions. If technology is to truly make governance more accessible, it must speak to citizens in a language they understand,” Kharge said.
He said Bhashini could help the state use AI, voice and translation technologies across its public-service infrastructure.
“Bhashini gives us an opportunity to use AI, voice, and translation technologies to bridge this gap. We should leverage it to make our 700-plus citizen services under Praja Seva and e-Governance simpler, more intuitive, and more accessible. The question is not whether citizens can adapt to technology, but whether technology can adapt to citizens,” he added.
The minister also highlighted that this would grow the number of opportunities for Karnataka’s startup ecosystem to develop technology for public-sector challenges.
He pointed to the recently introduced ‘Government First Policy’ for startups and invited the Bhashini team to the Bengaluru Tech Summit to showcase the technology and explore opportunities to expand its use across Government-to-Citizen services.
The government sees the combination of AI, translation and voice technology as a potential way to reduce friction in accessing public services, particularly where language remains a barrier to digital adoption.
“Ultimately, AI must be measured by the difference it makes to people’s lives,” Kharge said.