The Digital India BHASHINI Division (DIBD), under the Digital India Corporation (DIC), Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India, and Punjab National Bank (PNB), have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate on advancing multilingual AI solutions for inclusive banking and citizen-centric financial services through the BHASHINI for Seva/Sanchalan initiative.

The MoU was signed by Shri Amitabh Nag, CEO, Digital India BHASHINI Division, and Shri Atish Kumar Rout, Chief General Manager (Digital), Digital Banking Transformation Division, Punjab National Bank.

The collaboration aims to leverage BHASHINI's indigenous multilingual AI ecosystem to enable language-inclusive banking services by integrating AI-powered language technologies across PNB's digital banking ecosystem. Through this partnership, customers will be able to access banking information, digital platforms and services in their preferred Indian languages, making banking more accessible, intuitive and inclusive while enhancing customer experience and supporting financial inclusion.

Under the MoU, both organisations will collaborate across BHASHINI Udyat, Mitra, AppMitra, Pravakta and Bhashadaan to integrate multilingual AI capabilities into PNB's digital platforms and services. The partnership will facilitate multilingual access to banking services through BHASHINI's language translation APIs and reference applications, develop domain-specific language models and banking glossaries, strengthen multilingual communication and documentation using AI-powered language tools, encourage linguistic data contribution for continuous improvement of language technologies, and promote wider awareness and adoption of multilingual digital banking solutions.

The collaboration will also support the integration of BHASHINI's language technologies across PNB's digital channels, enabling seamless multilingual interactions between customers and banking services. By reducing language barriers and improving access to digital financial services, the partnership aims to strengthen customer engagement, expand the reach of banking services across diverse linguistic communities, and contribute to the Government of India's vision of inclusive Digital Public Infrastructure.

The partnership is expected to accelerate the adoption of multilingual AI across the banking sector, foster innovation in AI-enabled financial services, and support the development of accessible, citizen-centric digital banking that empowers every customer to engage confidently in their language of choice.

Shri M. Paramasivam, ED, Punjab National Bank said- "The collaboration between BHASHINI and Punjab National Bank demonstrates how Digital Public Infrastructure can accelerate inclusive digital transformation across sectors. By combining multilingual AI with public service delivery, this initiative will help bridge language barriers and ensure that digital banking services are more accessible, equitable, and citizen-friendly for people across the country."

Shri Amitabh Nag, CEO, Digital India BHASHINI Division, said- "Language should never be a barrier to accessing essential banking services. Through this partnership with Punjab National Bank, we are advancing BHASHINI's vision of a voice-first multilingual banking system, where every stakeholder interaction is multilingual and voice-first. By integrating BHASHINI's AI-powered language technologies into the banking ecosystem, we are taking another significant step towards building an inclusive Digital Public Infrastructure that enables citizens to seamlessly access financial services in their preferred Indian language. This collaboration reinforces our commitment to making digital banking more intuitive, inclusive, and citizen-centric."

Shri Atish Kumar Rout, Chief General Manager (Digital), Digital Banking Transformation Division, Punjab National Bank, said- "Punjab National Bank remains committed to delivering accessible, secure, and customer-centric digital banking services. Our collaboration with the Digital India BHASHINI Division will enable us to leverage cutting-edge multilingual AI technologies, making our digital platforms more inclusive and easier to use for customers across diverse linguistic backgrounds."

About Digital India BHASHINI Division (DIBD)

The Digital India BHASHINI Division (DIBD), under Digital India Corporation (DIC), MeitY, is India's national initiative for AI-driven multilingual digital inclusion. Through the National Hub for Language Technology (NHLT), BHASHINI powers 800+ government websites, has enabled 8+ billion AI inferences, processes 20+ million AI inferences daily, and supports 36 Indian text languages, 23 Indian voice languages, and 35 international languages. DIBD also advances multilingual AI through research, open innovation, datasets, startups and academic collaboration, strengthening India's Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI).

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Dharmendra Tewari / Kanishk Sharma / Vanshita Jaiswal