Anuvadini

Blog Credit: Trupti Thakur

Image Courtesy: Google

Anuvadini

The Government of India has directed all school and higher education institutions across

the country to make available digital study material in Indian languages for every academic course within 3 years. This policy aims to enable students to learn in their native tongues aligned to India’s linguistic diversity.

 Background

The National Education Policy 2020 has prioritised education in native languages and has also recommended a three-language formula for school education till Class X. The National Curriculum Framework 2023 for school education stated that till Class X a student need to study three languages of which two should be native Indian language and in Classes XI and XII where study of two languages have been recommended, one of which should be native Indian language.

 Coverage of Initiative

The digital study materials access mandate applies to both government and private institutions and covers all courses from school textbooks to specialized university texts spanning sciences, humanities, engineering, medicine, law etc.

 Anuvadini- the AI Tool

‘Anuvadini’, an Artificial Intelligence-based multilingual translation application developed indigenously, will facilitate swift conversion of existing English materials into multiple languages through machine learning as the bedrock, followed by expert manual reviews for accuracy.

Significant headway has already been achieved over past 2 years with thousands of textbooks translated across domains and curated on the online portal Ekumbh under the initiative. 12 regional languages textual options also exist for national entrance examinations now.

 UGC Guidelines

The University Grants Commission (UGC) also issued rules for higher education institutions to provide courses in Indian languages. The UGC said that the Commission for Scientific and Technical Terminology has made standard glossaries that can be used to translate. These glossaries cover a wide range of topics. According to the rules, technical terms that are hard for students to understand may be given in English between quotes after their Indian language counterparts.

 Intended Benefits

Removing language barriers in accessing high quality pedagogical resources would democratize quality education for the masses while preventing drop outs. It would also promote usage of native tongues in higher academia and professional domains instead of English.

 Uses in other arena

More than five thousand judgments of the Kerala High Court and District Courts have been recently translated into Malayalam with the help of Artificial Intelligence (AI). The judgments are translated using the AI tool ‘Anuvadini’ prepared by AICTE under the Union Ministry of Education.

 Digital Ecosystem

In school education, study material is being made available in multiple Indian languages including over 30 languages on DIKSHA portal and competitive exams like JEE, NEET, CUET are being delivered in 12 Indian languages and English.
For the past two years, the translation of engineering, medical, law, UG, PG and skill books are also being done.

In a decision aimed at providing students with the opportunity to study in their own language, Centre has decided that study material for all courses under school and higher education will be made available digitally in Indian languages included in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution.

DESCRIPTION

The Indian government has mandated all schools and higher education institutions across the country to provide digital study materials in Indian languages for all academic courses within three years. This policy attempts to allow students to learn in their native languages while respecting India’s linguistic diversity.

Background

The National Education Policy 2020 prioritizes education in native languages and proposes a three-language formula for school education until Class X. According to the National Curriculum Framework 2023 for school education, students must study three languages until Class X, two of which must be native Indian languages, and two languages are recommended for Classes XI and XII, one of which must be a native Indian language.

Coverage Of Initiative

The mandate for digital study materials access applies to both public and private institutions, and it encompasses all courses ranging from school textbooks to specialist university texts in sciences, humanities, engineering, medicine, and law.

Anuvadini—The AI Tool

‘Anuvadini’, an artificial intelligence-based multilingual translation program developed in-house, would enable the rapid conversion of current English content into several languages using machine learning as the foundation, followed by expert manual reviews for accuracy.

Thousands of textbooks have already been translated across domains and curated on the web portal Ekumbh as part of the initiative’s two-year timeline. National entrance examinations now include textual options in 12 regional languages.

UGC Guidelines

The University Grants Commission (UGC) recently announced guidelines requiring higher education institutions to offer courses in Indian language. The UGC stated that the Commission for Scientific and Technical Terminology has created standard glossaries that can be utilized for translation. These glossaries cover a wide variety of topics. According to the guidelines, technical terminology that are difficult for pupils to understand may be quoted in English after their Indian language counterparts.

Intended Benefits

Removing language barriers to high-quality pedagogical resources would democratize quality education for everybody while reducing dropout rates. It would also encourage the use of national languages in higher education and professional settings rather than English.

Uses In Another Arena

More than 5,000 judgments from the Kerala High Court and District Courts were recently translated into Malayalam using Artificial Intelligence (AI). The decisions are translated using the AI tool ‘Anuvadini’ developed by the AICTE under the Union Ministry of Education.

Digital Ecosystem

In school education, study materials are provided in a variety of Indian languages, including over 30 languages on the DIKSHA portal, and competitive tests such as JEE, NEET, and CUET are administered in 12 Indian languages and English.
Engineering, medical, law, undergraduate, graduate, and skill literature have also been translated over the last two years.

In an effort to give students the option to learn in their native language, the Centre has determined that study materials for all courses in school and higher education will be made available digitally in Indian languages included in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution.

 

 

Blog By: Trupti Thakur