Summary Adi Vaani is India's first AI-powered platform launched by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs to preserve tribal languages and bridge the digital divide. Developed by a national consortium led by IIT Delhi, the platform supports multiple indigenous languages and provides translation, education, healthcare, and governance access. Key Takeaways Adi Vaani was launched as a beta version on September 1, 2025, by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs. The platform has been developed by a national consortium led by IIT Delhi in collaboration with BITS Pilani, IIIT Hyderabad, IIIT Nava Raipur, and various Tribal Research Institutes. It supports nine major tribal and indigenous languages including Bhili, Santali, Mundari, Gondi, Garo, Kui, Kokborok, Betta Kuruba, and Koya. Key technological features include Text to Text Translation, OCR, Speech to Text, Voice to Voice, Text to Speech, and Video Subtitle generation. The platform aims to improve impact areas spanning government inclusion, healthcare access, education, culture preservation, and economic empowerment. Introduction India is home to hundreds of tribal communities, each carrying centuries of oral tradition, ecological wisdom, and cultural memory encoded in their native languages. Yet for millions of these speakers, the digital world — government services, healthcare information, education, banking — has largely spoken a different tongue. Adi Vaani is changing that. About Adi Vaani India's first AI-powered platform dedicated to preserving and empowering tribal languages launched by Ministry of Tribal Affairs. Adi Vaani is not just an AI powered translation tool but a platform to connect communities and preserve cultural identity. It's designed as a bridge — connecting tribal communities to digital India while actively preserving the languages and cultural identities that make those communities unique. Beyond translation, the platform supports the digitization of endangered languages, improves access to education, healthcare, and governance in native tongues, facilitates tribal entrepreneurship, and serves as a growing knowledge resource for researchers and linguists. Adi Vaani has been developed by a national consortium led by IIT Delhi, in collaboration with BITS Pilani, IIIT Hyderabad, IIIT Nava Raipur, and the Tribal Research Institutes of Jharkhand, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Meghalaya. The Adi Vaani - AI tool is available on web portal (https://adivaani.tribal.gov.in). The beta version of Adi Vaani was launched on September 1, 2025, by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.(https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2223706®=3&lang=1) Mission and Vision Mission: Acts as a bridge to the digital divide for India's tribal communities through AI-powered translation technology. Vision: A digitally inclusive India where no citizen is left behind due to language barriers. Why Tribal Language Preservation Matters Tribal languages carry centuries of knowledge, traditions, songs, folklore, and cultural identity. This portal - Adivaani bridges the digital gap by preserving linguistic diversity while enabling practical empowerment. Languages Currently Supported by Adi Vaani Bhili Bhili is one of India's most ancient tribal languages, spoken predominantly across Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra. Importance: It preserves folklore, customs, oral traditions, agricultural wisdom, forest practices, and cultural festivals like Bhagoria and Gavari. Santali Santali is the mother tongue of the Santhal tribe and belongs to the Munda sub-family of Austroasiatic languages. Importance: As one of India's scheduled languages, Santali holds deep cultural, social, and political importance. Mundari Mundari belongs to the Austro-Asiatic Munda language family and is spoken mainly in Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, and West Bengal. Importance: It is central to rituals, festivals, folklore, songs, and indigenous knowledge systems. Gondi Gondi is a Dravidian language spoken across central and southern India by the Gond community. Importance: It embodies the traditions, folklore, wisdom, identity, and resilience of the Gond community. Garo Garo is a Tibeto-Burman language spoken primarily by the Garo community in Meghalaya, with speakers also found in parts of Assam and neighboring regions. Importance: It preserves Garo oral traditions, folklore, songs, traditional knowledge, festivals, and the cultural identity of one of Northeast India's major indigenous communities. Kui Kui is a South-Central Dravidian language traditionally spoken by the Kondh communities, mainly across Odisha and adjoining areas of central India. Importance: It carries the oral traditions, folklore, songs, rituals, ecological knowledge, and cultural heritage of the Kondh communities. Kokborok Kokborok is a Tibeto-Burman language traditionally spoken by the Tripuri and related indigenous communities of Tripura and neighboring areas of Northeast India. Importance: It is a major symbol of Tripura's indigenous identity and preserves traditional stories, songs, customs, folklore, and cultural knowledge. Betta Kuruba Betta Kuruba, also known as Betta Kurumba, is a Southern Dravidian language spoken by the Betta Kuruba community in the Nilgiri Hills and adjoining areas of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala. Importance: It preserves the community's oral traditions, forest-based knowledge, cultural practices, folklore, and distinctive identity. The language is considered vulnerable and deserves documentation and revitalization. Koya Koya is a South-Central Dravidian language spoken by the Koya community across parts of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, and neighboring regions. Importance: It carries the community's oral traditions, folklore, songs, agricultural and forest knowledge, rituals, and cultural identity. Impact Areas Government Inclusion Healthcare Access Education Culture Preservation Economic Empowerment Features Available on Adi Vaani Text to Text Translation: Instantly translate written text between languages with our AI-powered translation technology. OCR: Extract and translate text from images or documents. Speech to Text: Convert spoken words into translated text in real time. Voice to Voice: Real-time voice-to-voice speech translation into Santali, Mundari, and Bhili. Text to Speech: Convert written text into natural-sounding audio in tribal languages. Video Subtitle: Translate videos and broadcasts into indigenous tribal languages with neural subtitling. Try It Yourself Adi Vaani is live and accessible to the public at adivaani.tribal.gov.in. Whether you're a researcher, educator, government worker, or simply curious about India's tribal languages, the platform offers a hands-on way to see AI technology being used for genuine cultural and social good. Data current as of August 2026. Source: Yuvva Bharat