Sansad Bhashini to bring AI and real-time translations to Parliament

The landmark initiative seeks to use advanced AI to overcome language barriers and enhance parliamentary documentation, offering real-time translations of debates, committee meetings, and agenda documents into various regional languages, fostering inclusivity in India’s multilingual democracy

In a significant development aimed at transforming parliamentary functions in India, the Lok Sabha Secretariat and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly develop the ambitious Sansad Bhashini initiative. This project seeks to harness the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance multilingual access to parliamentary debates, records, and proceedings, making them more accessible to the public.

The MoU was signed in the presence of Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Union Minister for MeitY, Ashwini Vaishnaw. The Sansad Bhashini initiative aims to bridge language barriers and streamline parliamentary documentation by leveraging advanced AI in Parliament, supporting India’s multilingual democracy. By integrating AI tools, the project will allow real-time translations of parliamentary content, such as debates, committee meetings, and agenda documents, into a variety of regional languages.

This collaboration will utilize MeitY’s Sansad Bhashini AI platform, which provides translation capabilities and linguistic support, integrated with AI to process the vast body of parliamentary data. The AI-powered solutions will make historical records and live discussions more accessible to MPs, government officials, researchers, and citizens, thereby improving transparency and participation in the democratic process.

AI-powered solutions for efficient governance

A standout feature of Sansad Bhashini is an AI-powered chatbot that helps MPs and parliamentary staff quickly access procedural rules, documents, and other essential legislative information. The tool will continuously evolve, offering enhanced support based on user interactions. Additionally, a speech-to-text system will transcribe debates in real-time, supporting multiple Indian languages, ensuring accuracy with background noise reduction, and providing customizable vocabulary for improved precision.

The initiative will also enable real-time speech translation, ensuring that parliamentary discussions are instantly available in multiple languages, facilitating smoother communication among lawmakers from diverse linguistic backgrounds. Another significant aspect of the project is automatic summarization of long debates, which will help expedite decision-making and enhance record-keeping, improving the overall efficiency of parliamentary operations.

Ashwini Vaishnaw commended Speaker Om Birla for his leadership in advancing the Sansad Bhashini initiative. He expressed confidence that this project would revolutionize parliamentary documentation, strengthen accessibility, and make the AI in Indian Parliament a key tool for enhancing democratic processes. Through this initiative, India continues its commitment to a technology-driven governance system that promotes inclusivity and transparency.