BHASHINI, Survey Of India Sign MoU To Strengthen India’s Geospatial Data Ecosystem

New Delhi, Jan 21 (KNN) AI-powered language translation platform BHASHINI has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Survey of India (SoI) to support the digitisation, transcription and standardisation of geographical place names.

The collaboration aims to create accurate, multilingual and standardised toponymic datasets in line with the National Geospatial Policy, 2022.

As the national nodal agency for the standardisation and maintenance of geographical names, the Survey of India conducts extensive field surveys to collect place names in local vernacular languages. 

Under the MoU, BHASHINI’s speech-to-text and language processing capabilities will be used to convert large volumes of audio recordings into structured digital text, supporting the development of a validated toponymy database covering over 16 lakh locations.

The partnership will contribute to the National Geographical Name Information System (NGNIS) by enabling efficient processing of field-collected data into local language scripts, Devanagari, Roman and other formats, ensuring uniformity across national maps, digital platforms and governance systems. 

The use of automatic speech recognition, language normalisation and validation workflows is expected to improve the speed, accuracy and scale of toponymic data processing.

The initiative will also strengthen audio documentation of place names, preserving correct pronunciation and local linguistic variations while ensuring standardisation in accordance with the Survey of India Toponymy Manual and Bureau of Indian Standards guidelines. 

This will enhance the reliability of place-name datasets used across mapping, governance and public information systems.

The MoU underscores the role of indigenous language technologies in strengthening India’s geospatial ecosystem and supports the government’s broader objective of building AI-enabled digital public infrastructure grounded in India’s linguistic diversity.

(KNN Bureau)