Toolkit for Inclusive
Voice Technologies Launched
India Launches Policy Report
& Developers’ Toolkit to Advance Inclusive Voice Technologies
1.
Launch Event:
The Policy Report and Developers’ Toolkit were launched on 20 February 2026
at the India AI Summit Expo 2026.
2.
Objective:
To establish a structured policy and practice framework for building open,
inclusive, and responsible voice technologies in India.
3.
Why Voice Technologies Matter:
o
Critical for digital inclusion in a linguistically
diverse country.
o
Enable speech-based access to public services,
healthcare, education, and the digital economy.
o
Reduce barriers caused by language and literacy
gaps.
4.
Institutions Involved:
Jointly developed by:
o
ARTPARK
o
Digital Futures Lab
o
Trilegal
With
support from:
o
Digital India BHASHINI Division
o
FAIR Forward – Artificial Intelligence for All
(implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit on
behalf of German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development)
5.
Key Focus of the Policy Report:
o
Identifies barriers in speech data collection,
model development, and governance.
o
Recommends treating foundational speech datasets as
digital public goods.
o
Calls for improved openness, representativeness,
and evaluation standards.
o
Emphasizes safeguards to prevent misuse while
enabling innovation.
6.
Developers’ Toolkit Highlights:
o
Addresses challenges in Indian-language datasets.
o
Identifies gaps such as uneven data representation
and weak quality assurance.
o
Introduces a lifecycle-based approach covering
conceptualisation, development, deployment, and governance.
7.
Ecosystem Challenges Identified:
o
Fragmented governance structures.
o
Limited evaluation frameworks.
o
Risk of exclusion across AI development stages.
8.
Strategic Vision:
Positions voice technology as a foundational layer of India’s Digital Public
Infrastructure (DPI), enabling multilingual, interoperable, and voice-first
systems.
9.
Key Message from Leadership:
Voice technologies are not merely innovations but instruments of digital
inclusion, especially for low-literacy and underserved populations.
10.
Broader Impact:
The initiative strengthens India’s efforts to bridge language, literacy, and
digital divides through responsible AI development.
Voice technologies
are becoming foundational to digital inclusion in India, shaping how millions access
public services, information, and the digital economy. Against this backdrop, a
new Policy Report and Developers’ Toolkit on voice technologies was launched
at the India AI Summit Expo 2026 on February 20, 2026 to set out a policy and practice
framework supporting open, inclusive, and responsible voice technologies.
The Policy Report
and Developers’ Toolkit were jointly developed by ARTPARK @IISc, Digital Futures
Lab and Trilegal with support from Digital
India BHASHINI Division and the FAIR Forward - AI for All initiative, implemented
by GIZ (German Development Cooperation) funded by the German Federal Ministry for
Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), bringing together research, technical
expertise, and ecosystem collaboration to advance responsible speech technologies
in India.
In a linguistically
diverse country like India, voice technologies represent a critical layer of digital
public infrastructure, lowering barriers to digital access through speech-based
applications. However, the development and deployment of speech technologies also
raise complex questions around data governance, inclusion, openness, quality, and
responsible use. Addressing these challenges requires alignment between policy frameworks,
technical practices, and ecosystem-level coordination.
The Policy Report
examines key barriers to building open and responsible speech systems in India -
from data collection and model development to infrastructure and governance practices.
It proposes targeted policy recommendations to strengthen the voice-technology ecosystem,
including treating foundational speech datasets as digital public goods, improving
openness and representativeness of models, investing in sustainable public infrastructure,
and embedding safeguards to prevent misuse while enabling innovation.
The Developers’
Toolkit complements the policy analysis by highlighting key challenges faced by
developers working with Indian-language voice datasets and building voice applications.
It identifies structural gaps within India’s speech and language technology ecosystem,
including uneven data representation, weak quality assurance mechanisms, limited
evaluation practices, and fragmented governance structures. Recognising that exclusionary
outcomes are often embedded throughout the development lifecycle, the toolkit introduces
a layered, lifecycle-oriented approach to building inclusive and robust speech AI
systems. It presents practical approaches currently adopted across India’s voice-technology
ecosystem to address challenges from product conceptualisation through deployment.
“As
India moves decisively toward a voice-first digital ecosystem, it is imperative
that we build this transition on strong policy foundations and practical implementation
frameworks. In a country of immense linguistic diversity, voice technologies are
not merely an innovation, they are an instrument of digital inclusion. The Policy
Report and Developers’ Toolkit launched today provide a structured roadmap for building
open, inclusive, and responsible speech technologies in India. While the policy
recommendations guide ecosystem alignment, the Developers’ Toolkit translates these
principles into actionable practices across the AI lifecycle—from data collection
and model development to deployment and governance. As voice technologies mature,
standards, evaluation frameworks, and technical toolkits will continue to evolve.
This journey will also require systematic re-engineering of existing digital and
IT infrastructures to make voice journey enabled,multilingual,
and interoperable. Through collaborative ecosystem efforts, we can ensure that voice
becomes a foundational layer of India’s Digital Public Infrastructure, bridging
language, literacy, and digital divides at scale”.- Amitabh Nag, CEO, Digital India BHASHINI
Division
"The
Report is full of best practices and lessons learned – from and for policymakers
and the tech community alike. For BMZ, it is also about advancing a shared vision
for digital inclusion and bridging the digital divide. For millions of people, voice
is the most natural and powerful interface to the digital world, especially for
those with limited literacy or access to digital infrastructure. When voice AI works in local languages and dialects,
it becomes a gateway to public services, health care, education, and economic participation."- Dr. Ariane Hildebrandt Director-General
of the department for global health, equality of opportunity, digital technologies
and food security; German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development
Curated
through a series of interactions with linguists, technical experts and AI ethicists,
the policy report and developer’s toolkit are an important addition to BHASHINI’s
expanding work in voice-first multilingual solutions for India, to bridge communication
gaps and break down linguistic and digital barriers.
About
the Partners
Digital
India BHASHINI Division
Digital
India BHASHINI Division is an AI powered language translation platform, bridging
literacy, language, and digital divides. BHASHINI is redefining communication through
innovative VOICE Multilingual AI Solutions. The mission is to make language and
technology accessible to everyone through voice-first multilingual solutions for
seamless communication, the largest co-creation AI platform driving collaboration
and innovation, & by breaking language, literacy, and digital barriers for inclusivity.
GIZ
and FAIR Forward - Artificial Intelligence for All
The Deutsche
Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is a federal enterprise
with more than 50 years experience in international cooperation.
On behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development
(BMZ), GIZ implements the project “FAIR Forward - Artificial Intelligence for All”
which strives for a more open, inclusive and sustainable approach to AI globally.
ARTPARK
@ IISC
ARTPARK
is a startup incubation and accelerator program designed to facilitate the evolution
of a startup from innovation to incubation. It enables entrepreneurs and researchers
to take ideas from the labs to the market, by bridging the gap between research
innovations and their application in solving day-to-day challenges, specifically
in the AI and Robotics ecosystem.
Digital
Future Labs
Digital
Futures Lab is an independent, interdisciplinary research studio that studies the
complex interplay between technology and society in India and the Majority World.
DFL works to realise pathways toward equitable, safe and sustainable digital futures
through evidence-based research, systematic foresight and public engagement.
Trilegal
Trilegal is a
full-service law firm in India with over 25 years of experience. The firm advises
a diverse set of clients including Fortune 500 companies, global investment funds,
major Indian conglomerates, domestic and international banks, technology and media
companies, family offices and high net-worth individuals.
Nasscom AI
Nasscom represents the voice of India’s $280+ billion technology industry,
with a vision to establish the nation as the world’s leading technology ecosystem.
It brings together a diverse and influential community of over 3,500 member companies,
spanning the entire industry spectrum. Nasscom AI, the
voice of India’s AI ecosystem, is a strategic initiative of Nasscom
dedicated to nurturing a vibrant, innovative, and sustainable AI landscape in India.
It serves as a unifying platform for ecosystem stakeholders to build AI capabilities,
accelerate adoption across sectors, and advance the responsible development and
deployment of AI through a wide range of programs and initiatives.