Dehradun – The state’s chief minister, Pushkar Singh Dhami, today launched a dedicated voice‑collection portal designed to preserve the Garhwali, Kumaoni and Jaunsari tongues. Developed by the AI Strategic Engineering (AiSE) Foundation under its ‘Bhasha AI’ programme, the platform opened with a Kumaoni‑language audio clip recorded by the CM himself.
Speaking at the Chief Minister’s Camp Office, Dhami emphasized that regional languages form the backbone of Uttarakhand’s cultural identity. He urged the integration of cutting‑edge technology to ensure these languages thrive in the digital age, noting that AI’s rapid expansion makes it imperative to train machines in local speech patterns.
Bridging Rural Communities with Their Mother Tongue
The administration aims to deliver government scheme information in Garhwali, Kumaoni and Jaunsari directly to remote villages, allowing citizens to interact with officials in the language they speak at home. For this vision to succeed, AI systems must accurately recognise and process native vocabularies, pronunciations and dialectal nuances.
Why Voice Data Matters
Dhami highlighted that beyond compiling word lists, the portal gathers authentic pronunciations and diverse speaking styles. This granular data will enable AI models to distinguish regional accents, detect subtle pronunciation shifts, and respond in a manner that feels natural to speakers across Uttarakhand.
He added that the same word can sound markedly different from one valley to another; by uploading a broad spectrum of voice samples, the system will learn to map these variations, ensuring reliable, context‑aware communication.
Cultural Preservation Meets Modern Innovation
The chief minister expressed confidence that the initiative will not only protect linguistic heritage but also reconnect younger generations with the state’s folk arts, songs, and traditions. He extended heartfelt thanks to everyone contributing to the project.
Padma Shri folk vocalist Pritam Bhartwan, present at the launch, praised the effort, noting that Garhwali, Kumaoni and Jaunsari languages encapsulate a wealth of folk narratives, Jagar chants and cultural customs. He affirmed that the Jagar Academy will assist in maintaining linguistic authenticity and proper pronunciation.
AiSE Foundation founder Sachidanand Semwal explained that ‘Bhasha AI’ is actively gathering lexical items and voice recordings from the three regional languages, with the long‑term goal of enabling AI‑driven applications to converse fluently in them.
Other dignitaries—including Shakti Prasad Bhatt, Gajendra Nautiyal, Anirudh Raithwan, Nidhi Semwal, Anil Godiyal, Dr. J.K. Pandey and Dev Raturi—attended the ceremony.
