Lok Sabha Question No. 988 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-05
Subject: Adi Vani App and Tribal Welfare in Kerala
Ministry: TRIBAL AFFAIRS
Asked by: Dr. M P Abdussamad Samadani

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF TRIBAL AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 988

TO BE ANSWERED ON: 5 th  FEBRUARY, 2026

## ADI VANI APP AND TRIBAL WELFARE IN KERALA

## 988. DR. M P ABDUSSAMAD SAMADANI:

Will the Minister of TRIBAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government has launched the Adi Vani mobile application as a digital platform for  dissemination  of  information  and  delivery of welfare  services to  Scheduled  Tribes; (b)  if  so,  the  objectives,  key  features  and  current  status  of  implementation  of  the  Adi  Vani application;

(c) whether the Government has assessed the reach, usability and effectiveness of the application among Scheduled Tribe communities, particularly in Kerala, where tribal habitations are located in remote and forest areas with limited digital connectivity;

(d)  the  steps  taken  to  provide  multilingual  support,  offline  access,  digital  literacy  training  and infrastructural assistance to ensure meaningful inclusion of tribal beneficiaries in Kerala; and

(e)  whether  any  State-specific  consultations,  impact  studies  or  corrective  measures  have  been undertaken in respect of Kerala and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE (TRIBAL AFFAIRS) (SHRI DURGADAS UIKEY)

(a)  &  (b)  The  Ministry  of  Tribal  Affairs  has  launched  the  beta  version  of  Adi  Vaani  mobile application on 1 st September, 2025. The beta version is currently available on android platform. The  project  aims  to  enable  real-time  text  and  speech  translation  between  Hindi,  English,  and multiple tribal languages (and vice versa), while offering interactive language learning tools for early learners and students. It also focuses on digitally preserving indigenous knowledge, folklore, and  cultural  heritage  for  future  generations,  in  collaboration  with  national  efforts  on  digital literacy, healthcare, and cultural preservation to extend its reach and impact.

Its key features include Text-to-Text, Text-to-Speech, Speech-to-Text, Speech-to-Speech translation, Optical Character Recognition for digitizing and translating tribal manuscripts, and a comprehensive repository with bilingual tribal dictionaries, primers, and subtitle integration for dignitaries' speeches in tribal languages. Health and cultural awareness content, such as timely delivery of sickle cell disease information, is provided in native languages. Currently, real-time text-to-text and speech-to-text translation is live for Santali, Mundari, Bhili, and Gondi, with Garo and  Kui  nearing  completion.  In  the  second  phase,  more  tribal  languages  are  proposed  to  be included in Adi Vaani.

(c)        The Government is assessing the total outreach and number of downloads of the app. The Ministry has also received feedbacks and testimonials from communities across the country. As the  app  is  in  beta  phase  and  testing  is  in  process,  reach,  usability  and  effectiveness  of  the application among Scheduled Tribe communities, particularly in Kerala, is not undertaken.

(d)       To provide multilingual support, the Ministry has initiated more tribal languages and is also exploring the modality to provide some of the features in offline mode. Adi Vaani is an online platform which is accessible from anywhere with internet access on multiple devices or platforms. For  the  digital  literacy  training  and  infrastructural  assistance,Ministry  is  engaging  with  the communities through TRIs and language experts. However, there is no such activity being carried out in the State of Kerala.

(e)         No,  there  hasn't  been  any  State-specific  consultations,  impact  studies  or  corrective measures with respect to Kerala.

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