The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology's Digital India Bhashini Division (DIBD) and the Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop and deploy multilingual artificial intelligence (AI) solutions for Indian Railways. This partnership will integrate BHASHINI's language technology, including Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR), Text-to-Text Translation, Text-to-Speech (TTS), and Optical Character Recognition (OCR), into CRIS-managed systems like the National Train Enquiry System (NTES) and RailMadad, enabling access to railway services in 22 Indian languages. The collaboration aims to improve accessibility and efficiency through multilingual chatbots, voice assistants, and interfaces across various platforms, including websites, mobile apps, and call centers. Joint technical workshops and pilot deployments are planned.
Key Entities Referenced
Ministry of Electronics IT: The Indian government ministry responsible for electronics and information technology.
BHASHINI: An entity collaborating with CRIS to build multilingual AI solutions; CEO is Shri Amitabh Nag.
CRIS: Centre for Railway Information Systems; signed an MoU with BHASHINI to develop and deploy multilingual AI solutions for Indian Railways; Managing Director is Shri G.V.L. Satya Kumar.
MoU: Memorandum of Understanding between BHASHINI and CRIS.
Indian Railways: The railway system of India, benefiting from the collaboration between BHASHINI and CRIS.
09 JUN 2025: Date of the press release regarding the BHASHINI and CRIS collaboration.
PIB Delhi: Press Information Bureau, Delhi - source of the press release.
Digital India Bhashini Division DIBD: A division involved in the development of multilingual AI solutions.
Shri Amitabh Nag: CEO of BHASHINI; signed the MoU on behalf of BHASHINI.
Shri G.V.L. Satya Kumar: Managing Director of CRIS; signed the MoU on behalf of CRIS.
New Delhi: Location where the MoU was signed.
Automatic Speech Recognition ASR: A component of BHASHINI's language technology stack.
TexttoText Translation: A component of BHASHINI's language technology stack.
TexttoSpeech TTS: A component of BHASHINI's language technology stack.
Optical Character Recognition OCR: A component of BHASHINI's language technology stack.
National Train Enquiry System NTES: A CRIS-managed system to be integrated with BHASHINI's language technology.
RailMadad: A CRIS-managed system to be integrated with BHASHINI's language technology.
22 Indian languages: Number of languages that citizens will be able to access railway services in.
Digital India: A vision under which this MoU marks a major milestone
Dharmendra TewariNavin Sreejith: Likely the names of the press release contacts or authors.
Release ID: 2135178: Identification number for the specific press release
Ministry of Electronics & IT
BHASHINI and CRIS Sign MoU to Build Next-Gen
Multilingual AI Solutions for Indian Railways
Posted On: 09 JUN 2025 5:47PM by PIB Delhi
In a landmark step toward linguistic inclusion and AI-driven digital transformation in Indian Railways, the
Digital India Bhashini Division (DIBD) and the Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS) today signed
a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate on the development and deployment of multilingual
artificial intelligence solutions across key public-facing railway platforms.
The MoU was formally signed by Shri Amitabh Nag, CEO, BHASHINI, and Shri G.V.L. Satya Kumar,
Managing Director, CRIS, in New Delhi.
The strategic partnership aims to integrate BHASHINI’s state-of-the-art language technology stack,
comprising Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR), Text-to-Text Translation, Text-to-Speech (TTS), and
Optical Character Recognition (OCR), into CRIS-managed systems such as the National Train Enquiry
System (NTES) and RailMadad. This will enable citizens to access critical railway services in 22 Indian
languages.
Speaking on the occasion, Shri Amitabh Nag, CEO, BHASHINI, said, “This collaboration will transform how
millions of passengers engage with railway services daily. Through BHASHINI’s AI capabilities, we are
ensuring that language is no longer a barrier to accessing vital public services.”
Shri G.V.L. Satya Kumar, Managing Director, CRIS, said, “CRIS is proud to partner with BHASHINI to
implement inclusive, AI-powered solutions across our digital platforms. This will enhance accessibility,
transparency, and efficiency in our passenger-facing services.”
The partnership will also focus on co-developing chatbots and voice assistants for multilingual passenger
support, developing multilingual over-the-counter interfaces for railway enquiry setups, scaling BHASHINI-
powered services through cloud and on-premise infrastructure, deploying these capabilities across websites,mobile apps, kiosks, and call centers, and enabling real-time, speech-based interaction in multiple Indian
languages. A series of joint technical workshops and pilot deployments are scheduled to commence in the
coming months.
This MoU marks a major milestone under the vision of Digital India and further strengthens India’s position
as a global leader in language AI for public digital infrastructure.
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Dharmendra Tewari\Navin Sreejith
(Release ID: 2135178)