Vinod Bhat
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.
