MoPR Signs Historic MoU with Bhashini to Empower Rural Governance in India.

On 19 June 2025, India’s Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR) inked a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Bhashini (Bhasha Internet ke Liye Abhiyan), the National Language Translation Mission (NLTM) under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), to bring real-time multilingual support to rural digital platforms across India.

      - The MoU was signed at the Constitution Club of India, New Delhi, in the presence of Prof. S.P. Singh Baghel, Union Minister of State (MoS) for Panchayati Raj, along with key officials including Vivek Bharadwaj (Secretary, MoPR), S. Krishnan (Secretary, MeitY), and Amitabh Nag (Chief Executive Officer – CEO, Bhashini). The initiative aims to boost inclusion in grassroots governance using digital language technology.

      - This agreement allows for the integration of Bhashini’s AI-based translation system into the eGramSwaraj platform—MoPR’s flagship initiative under the e-Panchayat Mission Mode Project (e-Panchayat MMP). The integration will enable multilingual text and voice communication in more than 22 official Indian languages, helping both officials and citizens interact in their native languages.

      - Bhashini uses cutting-edge Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Natural Language Processing (NLP) technologies to deliver speech-to-text, text-to-speech, and voice-to-voice translation. This ensures that translations are context-sensitive and governance-appropriate, addressing India's complex linguistic landscape.

Main Point :-   (i) India has over 260,000 Gram Panchayats, many of which struggle with centralized platforms operating only in English or Hindi. The Bhashini integration will support decentralized and inclusive governance, helping in local-level planning, budgeting, decision-making, capacity building, and monitoring by enabling communication in regional languages.

      (ii) While launching the MoU, Prof. Baghel emphasized that governance must “speak the language of the people” for meaningful democratic engagement. He called this MoU a "leap toward digital decentralization," which will empower citizens and local bodies with transparent, accessible, and inclusive digital tools.

(iii) This initiative is aligned with the Digital India Programme, supporting local governance platforms like Common Service Centres (CSCs), Digital Panchayats, and eGramSwaraj. It complements earlier Bhashini collaborations—such as with the Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS)—in promoting Public Digital Infrastructure (PDI) that is linguistically inclusive and user-friendly.
About Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR)