India and Nepal have taken a significant step towards strengthening cooperation in artificial intelligence, digital public infrastructure, and language technologies with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Digital India BHASHINI Division (DIBD) under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and Kathmandu University’s Centre for Digital Public Infrastructure & Artificial Intelligence (DPI-AI).The agreement establishes a framework for collaboration in multilingual artificial intelligence, language technology development, and inclusive digital ecosystems, reflecting the growing emphasis both countries are placing on digital transformation and technological cooperation.
The MoU was signed, on June 6, by Amitabh Nag, Chief Executive Officer of the Digital India BHASHINI Division, and Prof. Bal Krishna Bal, Associate Dean of Kathmandu University. The exchange of the agreement took place in the presence of India’s External Affairs Minister, S. Jaishankar, and Nepal’s Foreign Minister, Shishir Khanal, during bilateral engagements in New Delhi.
The partnership is aimed at advancing Language AI capabilities while supporting the creation of multilingual digital public infrastructure that can improve access to digital services for citizens across linguistic and geographical boundaries. Officials from both sides described the initiative as part of a broader vision to use technology for inclusive growth, social empowerment, and deeper regional cooperation.
A key focus of the collaboration will be the development of high-quality Nepali language datasets, speech corpora, and multilingual AI resources. The two institutions will work together on technologies such as speech-to-text systems, text-to-speech applications, machine translation tools, and multilingual conversational AI platforms.
The initiative also seeks to address one of the major challenges facing many low-resource languages in the digital era: the lack of digital representation. Through joint efforts, the institutions plan to support the preservation and digitisation of linguistic and literary heritage across the India-Nepal region, particularly for underrepresented languages that remain vulnerable to exclusion from emerging AI ecosystems.
The collaboration is expected to leverage BHASHINI’s open and interoperable language technology framework to support Nepal’s efforts in delivering public services in citizens’ preferred languages. By reducing language, literacy, and digital accessibility barriers, the initiative aims to improve last-mile access to government services and digital platforms.
Beyond technology development, the MoU outlines plans for joint research programmes, capacity-building initiatives, training activities, and pilot projects in areas such as Natural Language Processing (NLP), multilingual AI, and Digital Public Infrastructure. The partnership is expected to bring together researchers, universities, language experts, policymakers, and technology practitioners from both countries.
The agreement also has an economic and social dimension. By expanding multilingual access to education, skill development, digital commerce, and public services, the collaboration is expected to create new opportunities for students, entrepreneurs, professionals, and local communities in Nepal and the broader region.
Speaking on the occasion, Amitabh Nag said the partnership represented an important milestone in India’s efforts to build inclusive language technologies for the region.
“This partnership with Kathmandu University represents a significant step in India’s commitment to building inclusive language technology for the region. BHASHINI’s open Digital Public Infrastructure model has the potential to transform digital access for millions of citizens across South Asia, and this collaboration will help us extend that vision beyond India’s borders, strengthening our shared linguistic and cultural heritage while building the next generation of multilingual AI for the Global South,” he said.
Prof. Bal Krishna Bal described the agreement as a shared commitment between Nepal and India to harness artificial intelligence for linguistic inclusion and social impact.
“Through collaboration between the DPI-AI Center at Kathmandu University and BHASHINI, we seek to advance research, innovation, and capacity building in multilingual AI, ensuring that our rich linguistic heritage becomes a catalyst—not a barrier—for participation in the digital future,” he said.
The partnership comes as India continues to expand the reach of BHASHINI, its flagship language technology initiative designed to make digital services accessible in multiple languages. Operating through the National Hub for Language Technology, BHASHINI supports AI-driven speech and text services for governance platforms, public institutions, and digital applications.
According to MeitY, the platform currently supports 36 Indian text languages, 23 Indian voice languages, and 35 international languages. It powers more than 800 government websites and processes over 15 million AI inferences daily. The initiative also promotes multilingual AI research, open-source innovation, dataset creation, startup development, and academic collaboration as part of India’s broader digital public infrastructure ecosystem.
The India-Nepal collaboration is expected to serve as a model for regional cooperation in language technology, demonstrating how Digital Public Infrastructure and artificial intelligence can be deployed to make digital transformation more inclusive and linguistically diverse across South Asia.
