In a major step toward modernizing parliamentary processes, the Lok Sabha Secretariat and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop the Sansad Bhashini initiative on Tuesday. This ambitious project aims to leverage cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance multilingual support, streamline parliamentary operations, and improve access to vast archives of parliamentary debates and records, according to an official statement from the Ministry of Finance on Tuesday.
The MoU was signed in the presence of Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Union Minister for MeitY, Ashwini Vaishnaw. The initiative will make it easier for Members of Parliament (MPs), researchers, and academics to access documents and data in multiple languages, reinforcing linguistic diversity and accessibility.
As part of the collaboration, the Lok Sabha Secretariat and MeitY will integrate parliamentary data with AI tools. The extensive parliamentary corpus will be used for developing AI solutions, while Bhashini, a MeitY initiative, will provide the necessary translation capabilities and technical expertise.
The Sansad Bhashini initiative will feature AI-based translation that enables real-time translation of parliamentary content, including legacy debates, committee meetings, and agenda files, into various regional languages, making documents more accessible to all citizens. It will also include an AI-powered chatbot designed to help MPs and officials quickly retrieve parliamentary rules, documents, and procedural information, with continuous improvements based on user interactions.
Also, a speech-to-text conversion system will convert spoken debates into written text with real-time transcription, supporting multiple Indian languages while incorporating features like background noise reduction and customizable vocabulary for enhanced accuracy. The initiative will also offer real-time speech translation, making parliamentary discussions instantly available in different languages. An automatic summarization of lengthy debates will further assist in quicker decision-making and better record-keeping.
Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw praised Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla for his leadership in launching the Sansad Bhashini initiative. He expressed confidence that the project would revolutionize parliamentary documentation, enhance multilingual accessibility, and further strengthen India’s technology-driven governance systems.
