New Delhi, Jan 20 (IANS) For artificial intelligence (AI) to deliver meaningful public value in a linguistically diverse country like India, it must be multilingual and voice-enabled, ensuring that language does not become a barrier to accessing healthcare services, according to Amitabh Nag, CEO, Digital India BHASHINI Division (DIBD).

Nag said that language AI can significantly enhance citizen engagement, grievance redressal mechanisms, clinical documentation, and the overall accessibility of digital public health platforms.

He participated at an event by DIBD in Bhubaneswar which brought together senior officials from the Union and state governments, technical institutions, and implementing agencies to review progress and accelerate the adoption of digital health initiatives across the country.

Nag highlighted that as digital health systems scale across the country, the adoption of artificial intelligence becomes a natural progression.

A key highlight was the signing of an MoU between the National Health Authority and the Digital India BHASHINI Division to enable multilingual translation services and AI-powered language support across NHA’s digital health platforms, including AB PM-JAY and ABDM.

Kiran Gopal Vaska, Joint Secretary, Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM), highlighted the practical benefits of language AI in healthcare delivery.

He noted that AI-enabled tools such as voice-to-text and natural language processing can help address the time constraints faced by doctors by enabling seamless patient–doctor interactions, while allowing electronic health records to be created automatically, thereby improving efficiency and strengthening digital health systems.

The Digital India BHASHINI Division will support the National Health Authority in deploying multilingual and voice-enabled solutions across beneficiary-facing and administrative platforms, with provisions for responsible data governance, secure system integration, and continuous improvement of language models through real-world usage and feedback.

The deliberations at the event were aligned with the national objective of advancing digital health through AI-driven innovation and inclusive language access, with a focus on ensuring that digital health platforms are usable, accessible, and effective across linguistic and geographic boundaries.

--IANS

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