In a major step towards making higher education more accessible across languages, the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) has partnered with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay to roll out Project Udaan — an AI-powered translation platform that will bring academic content to learners in multiple Indian languages.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the two institutions at IGNOU’s headquarters on Friday. The agreement aims to support the goals of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which strongly encourages multilingual education and equal learning opportunities.
Project Udaan uses artificial intelligence to translate complex technical and academic material while keeping the format and original layout intact. The platform blends Optical Character Recognition (OCR), domain-specific glossaries, and human feedback for high-quality translations.
Professor Ganesh Ramakrishnan of IIT Bombay, who leads Project Udaan, said the initiative is designed to meet the linguistic needs of India’s diverse learner base.
The platform aims to remove the language barrier in higher education by offering accurate, readable translations of textbooks and learning modules.
IGNOU CONTENT TO BE TRANSLATED INTO REGIONAL LANGUAGES
The MoU also aligns with national initiatives such as Digital India and Bharat Bhasha, which seek to promote the use of Indian languages in the digital space and encourage inclusive AI research.
With IGNOU’s reach as one of the world’s largest open universities and IIT Bombay’s expertise in AI and language processing, the collaboration is expected to transform access to quality education for millions of students.
With this collaboration, IGNOU’s vast collection of study material will now be available in regional languages, making it easier for students from rural and non-English speaking backgrounds to study effectively.
Senior academic officials from both institutions were present during the signing ceremony. They described the project as a move towards educational innovation, equality, and empowerment — especially for students in remote and regional areas.
By breaking language barriers, Project Udaan could serve as a turning point in India’s journey towards inclusive and tech-driven learning.