**Executive Summary**
The BHASHINI Sanchalan/Seva Workshop was held on April 17, 2026, at SGTB Khalsa College, University of Delhi, to advance the AI ecosystem for the Gurmukhi language. Organized by the Digital India BHASHINI Division (DIBD) and SGTB Khalsa College, the workshop focused on minority language preservation through digitisation, dataset creation, and digital AI model development. The initiative aims to bridge the digital divide by integrating heritage languages into national digital public infrastructure.
**Key Points / Main Content**
**Workshop Objectives and Focus**
* Prioritises the preservation of the Gurmukhi script, which is central to Punjabi literature and Sikh traditions.
* Aims to integrate Gurmukhi into digital platforms through structured digitisation and linguistic validation.
* Aligns with the Ministry of Minority Affairs’ broader scope of promoting heritage languages.
**AI Model Development and Data Collection**
* Focuses on building high-quality datasets for Gurmukhi, including text corpora, audio recordings, and the digitisation of manuscripts.
* Utilises the BhashaDaan platform to facilitate structured data contribution and community-led validation by proficient speakers.
* Emphasises the need for academic and community participation to build robust language models.
**Technological Demonstrations and Applications**
* Showcased live demonstrations of core AI technologies, including text-to-text translation, speech recognition, and Optical Character Recognition (OCR).
* Highlighted multilingual tool use cases across governance, education, and digital public infrastructure.
* Demonstrated real-time inferencing, scalable deployment, and API-based integration capabilities.
**Digital India BHASHINI Division (DIBD) Capabilities**
* Developed the National Hub for Language Technology (NHLT), providing over 20 specialised NLP services.
* Supports 36 text and 23 voice languages, including tribal dialects, and powers over 800 government websites.
* Anchors an open-source ecosystem focused on model engineering, optimization, and large-scale dataset collection.
**Impact Analysis**
**Academic Institutions (SGTB Khalsa College)**
**Impact**
Serves as a key academic and knowledge partner, providing the domain expertise required for linguistic accuracy and cultural contextualisation.
**Action Required**
Engage in long-term collaboration with DIBD to contribute to Gurmukhi applications and research development.
**Language Communities and Proficient Speakers**
**Impact**
Gains inclusive access to knowledge systems and digital services in their native script, fostering digital empowerment.
**Action Required**
Actively participate in the BhashaDaan platform to contribute data and validate linguistic datasets.
**Digital India BHASHINI Division (DIBD)**
**Impact**
Reinforces its role as a national platform for AI-driven language technology and multilingual digital inclusion.
**Action Required**
Continue model fine-tuning through structured feedback loops and expand the collaborative ecosystem with academic partners.
Key Entities Referenced
Digital India BHASHINI Division (DIBD): India’s national initiative under MeitY focused on AI-driven language technology to ensure multilingual digital inclusion through an open-source ecosystem.
National Hub for Language Technology (NHLT): A major AI inferencing platform developed by BHASHINI to enable speech and text capabilities across Indian and international languages.
BhashaDaan: An initiative and platform for large-scale crowdsourced dataset collection and community-led validation of language data to train AI models.
Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY): The central government ministry responsible for overseeing the Digital India BHASHINI initiative and national language technology infrastructure.
SGTB Khalsa College, University of Delhi: The academic and knowledge partner providing domain expertise for the preservation, digitization, and linguistic validation of the Gurmukhi script.
Ministry of Electronics & IT
BHASHINI Sanchalan/Seva Workshop on
Gurmukhi Language Held at SGTB Khalsa
College, University of Delhi to Advance Minority
Language AI Ecosystem
Posted On: 18 APR 2026 5:41PM by PIB Delhi
In a significant step towards strengthening minority language preservation through AI-led innovation, the
BHASHINI Sanchalan/Seva Workshop on Gurmukhi Language Preservation and Digital AI Model
Development was conducted on 17 April 2026 at SGTB Khalsa College, University of Delhi. The
workshop was organised by the Digital India BHASHINI Division under the Ministry of Electronics and
Information Technology in collaboration with SGTB Khalsa College.
The workshop placed focused emphasis on the Gurmukhi script, which is integral to Punjabi language and
literature and holds deep cultural, historical, and religious significance, particularly in Sikh traditions and
scriptures. As a language resource in the AI ecosystem, Gurmukhi requires structured efforts in
digitisation, dataset creation, and linguistic validation to enable its effective integration into digital
platforms and services. The initiative aligns with the broader scope of the Ministry of Minority Affairs in
supporting the preservation and promotion of minority and heritage languages.
SGTB Khalsa College contributed as a key academic and knowledge partner, providing domain expertise
and institutional support essential for ensuring linguistic accuracy and cultural contextualisation in
language AI initiatives. This collaboration reflects continued efforts to strengthen research, knowledgedevelopment, and ecosystem-building for low-resource and heritage languages.
During the workshop, Shri Shailendra Pal Singh, Senior General Manager, Digital India BHASHINI
Division, emphasised the importance of leveraging AI to enable inclusive access to knowledge systems
and digital services through Indian languages, and highlighted the need for active participation from
academic institutions and language communities in building high-quality datasets and robust language
models for Gurmukhi.
The workshop focused on the development of AI models for the Gurmukhi language through targeted data
collection, validation frameworks, and community-driven participation. The programme included sessions
on the linguistic and cultural relevance of Gurmukhi, along with detailed discussions on dataset
requirements such as text corpora, audio recordings, and digitisation of manuscripts, supported by
structured data quality frameworks. A comprehensive overview of the BhashaDaan platform was
presented to enable structured data contribution and community-led validation by proficient speakers.
As part of the workshop, the BHASHINI team conducted live demonstrations of its core language AI
technologies and applications, showcasing multilingual capabilities across text, speech, and document
domains. Demonstrations included text-to-text translation, speech recognition, optical character
recognition, and multilingual tools, along with use cases across governance, education, and digital public
infrastructure.
Prof. Gurmohinder Singh, Principal, SGTB Khalsa College, emphasised: At the event,
“Bhashini shall contribute immensely to bridge the digital divide in Indian languages. We at SGTB
Khalsa College shall have long term collaboration with the team to contribute in Gurmukhi applications.”These demonstrations and discussions highlighted real-time inferencing, scalable deployment, and API-
based integration capabilities, reinforcing BHASHINI’s role as a national platform enabling multilingual
access, inclusion, and digital empowerment, while continuing to strengthen collaborative ecosystems with
academic institutions and language communities.
About Digital India BHASHINI Division (DIBD):
The Digital India BHASHINI Division (DIBD), under the Ministry of Electronics and Information
Technology (MeitY), is India’s national initiative for AI-driven language technology and multilingual
digital inclusion. Beyond being a model provider, BHASHINI has developed the National Hub for
Language Technology (NHLT), one of the world’s largest AI inferencing platforms, enabling multilingual
capabilities across Indian and international languages through advanced speech and text technologies.
DIBD anchors a robust open-source ecosystem focused on model engineering and optimisation, API
engineering and management, and scalable real-world use case deployment across governance and
institutional platforms. It enables continuous model fine-tuning through structured feedback loops and
drives improvement through large-scale dataset collection, including multilingual and voice content and
dataset creation initiatives such as Bhashadaan. The platform powers over 800 government websites,
processes more than 15 million inferences daily, and offers over 20 specialised NLP services across 36
text and 23 voice languages, including support for tribal dialects. DIBD also drives and promotes research
and development, fosters startups in the language AI domain, supports academic collaboration, and
advances international cooperation, positioning BHASHINI as a scalable, inclusive, and future-ready
digital public infrastructure for the nation.
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