Bhashini, India’s national language technology platform, has partnered with the National Health Authority (NHA) to integrate multilingual voice-enabled AI into key Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) services. The collaboration will enable voice-based interactions in 22 official Indian languages and several major regional dialects, making digital health tools more accessible to non-literate and low-literacy populations across the country.
Glimpse:
Announced on January 18, 2026, the partnership will first deploy voice-enabled interfaces for ABHA registration, Scan & Share OPD token generation, e-prescription reading, appointment booking, and telemedicine consultations via eSanjeevani. The AI models are trained on Bhashini’s extensive Indic language datasets and will be rolled out progressively across states, with initial focus on high-non-literacy districts. The initiative aims to bridge the digital divide, improve adoption of ABDM services, and ensure equitable access to digital healthcare for millions who rely on voice communication.
Bhashini, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology’s flagship platform for building Indian language technologies, has entered into a strategic partnership with the National Health Authority (NHA) to make Ayushman Bharat services truly multilingual and voice-first. The collaboration, formalised on January 18, 2026, will integrate Bhashini’s advanced voice recognition, text-to-speech, and natural language understanding models into core ABDM components, enabling citizens to interact with health services in their preferred language using speech alone.
The first phase of deployment will cover critical user touchpoints:
Voice-guided ABHA creation and authentication
Spoken instructions for Scan & Share OPD registration
Audio readout of e-prescriptions and lab reports
Voice-based appointment booking and rescheduling
Multilingual telemedicine consultations via eSanjeevani
Bhashini’s models support 22 official Indian languages and several major regional dialects, with ongoing expansion to cover more than 300 million non-literate or low-literacy adults who currently face significant barriers in accessing digital health services.
Dr. Rajendra Pratap Gupta, CEO of NHA, highlighted the equity focus: “A large section of our population is comfortable only with voice communication. By making ABDM services voice-enabled in local languages, we are removing a major barrier to adoption and ensuring that digital health truly serves everyone, not just the digitally literate.”
T. Koshy Vaidyan, CEO of Bhashini, added: “This partnership is a landmark moment in making India’s digital public infrastructure truly inclusive. Voice AI is the most natural interface for millions of Indians, especially in rural and semi-urban areas.”
The initiative is expected to significantly boost ABHA creation rates, eSanjeevani utilisation, and overall engagement with digital health services in linguistically diverse states such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Odisha. Early pilots in select districts have already shown improved user satisfaction and higher completion rates for digital registration processes.
The collaboration also includes joint efforts to continuously improve language models using anonymised health interaction data (with strict privacy controls) to better understand regional accents, medical terminology in local languages, and common health queries.
This partnership represents a major milestone in India’s journey toward inclusive digital health, ensuring that language and literacy are no longer barriers to accessing essential services under Ayushman Bharat.
“Voice AI is the most natural interface for millions of Indians, especially in rural and semi-urban areas. This partnership makes digital health truly inclusive.”
By
HB Team
