In order to promote and simultaneously empower all the Indian languages, the Centre is coming out with an ambitious project namely Bharatvani. As part of creating a knowledge society in the age of digital India call by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the HRD Ministry has developed a multilingual knowledge portal making it the largest language portal in the world.
The major objectives of Bharatavani would be to develop e-content in all languages and disseminate country's classical literature in different languages through the use of information and communication technology which would be monitored by Central Institute of Indian languages, Mysuru.
The contents which would be made available on www.bharatavani.in. will be an aggregate of multimedia content from all the Indian writers, government and non-governmental institutions, educational institutions like boards of education, textbook corporations, universities, academies, publication houses, etc. which would provide a single window for all the IT related activities like language tools such as fonts, software, typing tools, mobile apps, multi language translation tools, text to speech, speech to text, etc. in Indian languages.
The first of its kind aim is to further develop knowledge and learning portal accessible to all sections of society; make all languages compatible with modern technology and promote their online usage; make Indian languages visible on the Internet on a large scale; give a boost to research in Indian languages; provide endangered, minor and tribal languages a prominent place and provide opportunities for skill development and constructive engagement to the youth.
The content will also delve on conducting on-line language teaching-learning courses especially in scheduled, non-scheduled, minor and tribal languages used in education; cross link agriculture, business, health, education, social sector, etc. for timely delivery of services and other important portals so that all citizens get knowledge and information in their own languages on a single portal.
"India has an illustrious history of linguistic and cultural plurality that has sustained through several millennia. In India, multilingualism is considered an asset or an invaluable resource. The language vitality - capacity of a language to live, grow, and develop - depends upon various factors such as social status, demography, and institutional support. Access to information and communication technology in their own language is one of the ways to empower the people and enhance the vitality of a language. The visibility of these languages in public domains will enhance their self-esteem and self-confidence," said a HRD Ministry official.