BHASHINI enhances multilingual communication at Araku Utsav 2026 and Tribal Homestays

The Digital India BHASHINI Division (DIBD) , under the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY), played a key role in facilitating multilingual communication during Araku Utsav 2026 , organised by the Government of Andhra Pradesh in the Alluri Sitharama Raju District.

During the event, BHASHINI’s Shrutlekh real-time speech transcription system was deployed during the welcome address session, providing live Telugu-to-English transcription with on-screen display. This improved accessibility for non-Telugu speaking participants and enhanced documentation of proceedings, demonstrating the application of language AI in inclusive governance.

The programme was attended by Shri Kandula Durgesh , Minister for Tourism, Culture and Cinematography, and Smt. Gummadi Sandhya Rani, Minister for Tribal Welfare and District In-charge, along with senior state officials. As part of the official schedule, the ministers visited Chompi Village, where government-supported tribal homestays are being promoted under tourism development initiatives.

At Chompi, the BHASHINI mobile app’s Converse feature was demonstrated, enabling two-way spoken communication between Odia-speaking hosts and tourists speaking other Indian languages. The system allows visitors to speak in their native language, which is translated in real-time for the host, while host responses in Odia are translated back for the visitor. This facilitates natural conversation, basic service communication, and improved interaction, supporting community-based tourism services.

The Tourism Department of Andhra Pradesh is promoting BHASHINI across government-supported homestays in tribal and tourism locations to strengthen multilingual interaction between hosts and visitors . Additionally, the app is being deployed by police personnel for multilingual public assistance, ensuring citizen-friendly policing and effective field coordination in linguistically diverse areas.

Implemented under the National Language Translation Mission (NLTM) , BHASHINI provides speech and text services in Indian languages through mobile apps and APIs, making it a Digital Public Infrastructure supporting governance, tourism facilitation, and livelihood promotion in tribal and remote regions.

The deployment at Araku Utsav 2026 and tribal homestays highlights how AI-driven language solutions are enhancing accessibility, communication, and tourism experiences in linguistically diverse and remote communities.