Integrating technology into education: NEP 2020’s vision for linguistic diversity !!!

Delhi:- The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 places a strong emphasis on integrating technology with education to preserve and promote India’s diverse linguistic heritage. Key initiatives by various educational bodies and government agencies demonstrate this commitment.

Bhasha Sangam and Machine Translation initiatives

The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has launched the Bhasha Sangam program, along with a Machine Translation cell, to translate various books into the scheduled languages.

Leveraging technology for translation in higher education

The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and the University Grants Commission (UGC) have utilized the Anuvadini App to translate undergraduate and postgraduate course books, including technical texts, into multiple Indian languages. These translated books are accessible on the e-KUMBH portal.

Multilingual competitive exams

National-level entrance exams like the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), Joint Entrance Exam (JEE), and Common University Entrance Test (CUET) are now conducted in 13 languages, enhancing accessibility for students across linguistic backgrounds.

Engineering education in regional language

Certain AICTE-approved institutions are offering engineering education in eight regional languages. Course materials, textbooks, and teaching resources are available on the Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing (DIKSHA) portal in 33 Indian languages.

New UGC initiative: ASMITA

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has introduced ASMITA (Augmenting Study Materials in Indian Languages through Translation and Academic Writing), a new initiative aimed at promoting Indian languages in education.

Mission Digital India Bhashini

Launched in 2022 by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY), Mission Digital India Bhashini aims to develop core language technologies for speech and text translation for 22 scheduled Indian languages. The Bhashini open Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) for language translation in text and voice are listed on API Setu (apisetu.gov.in) and are available for integration with any application.

This information was provided by the Minister of State for Education, Dr. Sukanta Majumdar, in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.