Digital India BHASHINI, GeM sign MoU for multilingual access

The Digital India BHASHINI Division and the Government e-Marketplace signed a Memorandum of Understanding on 15 June 2026 to expand multilingual access in India’s public procurement ecosystem. The collaboration uses the BHASHINI Platform, which is India’s National Language Digital Public Infrastructure, for language-enabled digital services on GeM.

BHASHINI Platform

BHASHINI is a National Language Digital Public Infrastructure under the Digital India programme. It is designed for language technology services such as translation, speech recognition, and voice-based digital interaction in Indian languages.

Government e-Marketplace

GeM is an online public procurement portal for goods and services used by government buyers and sellers in India. It provides digital procurement facilities for ministries, departments, public sector units, and other eligible entities.

MoU Features and Technical Components

The partnership operates under the “BHASHINI for Seva/Sanchalan—A BHASHINI Sahayogi Program”. It includes integration of AI-powered language technologies, translation application programming interfaces, domain-specific language models, and voice-enabled tools. The project is designed to support interaction in 22 officially recognised Indian languages and other regional languages through “Voice First” language technology infrastructure and Generative AI solutions. The collaboration also covers co-creation and deployment of multilingual digital public resources for GeM users.

Public Procurement and Language Access

The initiative is linked to public procurement, which is the process by which government bodies purchase goods and services through formal systems. Multilingual access on GeM is intended to allow stakeholders to use procurement services in their preferred Indian languages. Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, startups, and businesses are among the user groups associated with GeM’s procurement ecosystem. Language-enabled access is relevant for digital governance platforms that serve users across multiple linguistic regions of India.

Important Facts for Exams

• BHASHINI stands for the National Language Translation Mission under the Digital India framework.
• GeM was launched as a government procurement portal for transparent online purchasing.
• India has 22 officially recognised languages under the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.
• Generative AI is a class of artificial intelligence that can create text, speech, and other digital content.

Recent Context

The MoU was signed on 15 June 2026 in India. The collaboration is associated with multilingual digital public infrastructure and public procurement services.