This event is jointly organized by Punjabi University Patiala (RCTDPLC), IIIT Hyderabad, and Navchetna – A Charitable Institute for the Blind — bridging academic research, social welfare, and national-scale language technology under Bhashini.

From Vision to Reality — What the Symposium Delivered

Launch of Three Groundbreaking Accessibility Tools

At the heart of the symposium was the launch of three pioneering software solutions, formally unveiled by Dr. Jaswinder Singh Brar, Dean of Academics at Punjabi University.

 

  • Drishti-Library — developed by IIIT Hyderabad, this AI-driven platform uses Bhashini’s Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and Text-to-Speech (TTS) systems to convert printed books into natural-sounding audiobooks in twelve Indian languages (including Punjabi). A collaboration with Navchetna is already underway to convert undergraduate textbooks into audio format.
  • Drishti-Dot — India’s first system capable of converting printed books directly into Grade-1 Braille across twelve Indian languages. This represents an unprecedented step forward in Braille accessibility for visually challenged readers.
  • Bilingual Gurmukhi OCR Mobile App — developed by Punjabi University, this app enables real-time recognition and reading of Punjabi text from images using mobile devices, thereby enabling visually impaired users to access printed Punjabi material independently.

In addition, the symposium featured a demonstration of a prototype system named Drishti-Sabha, described as India’s first voice-enabled, multilingual question-answering system built around recordings of legislative debates from the Punjab Vidhan Sabha.

 

Why CVIT & Bhashini Matter — The Underlying Tech That Powers Inclusion

To appreciate the significance of this symposium, it helps to understand what institutions like CVIT and the Bhashini initiative are already doing:

  • CVIT works at the intersection of computer vision, language technologies, machine learning, and applied research — combining cutting-edge AI with societal needs.
  • Under Bhashini, CVIT (alongside other institutions) has developed robust OCR technology for Indic languages, capable of recognizing printed text across 13 different Indian languages — including major ones like Hindi, Malayalam, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, etc.
  • The OCR models are segmentation-free and use modern deep-learning techniques (CNN + RNN + CTC) to map images directly to Unicode text — thereby enabling reliable digitization of Indian-language documents.
  • Beyond recognition, CVIT’s “Audio Book Creation System” can convert scanned documents into high-quality audiobook formats (e.g. DAISY or MP3), supporting multiple Indian languages. This makes literature and text accessible through speech for visually impaired users.
  • These tools have been deployed in real use cases — for example, digitization of archival materials (historical documents), legislative records, books — making them searchable, accessible, and inclusive.

In short, the technological foundation — multilingual OCR + text-to-speech + web-based delivery — is already strong. The symposium thus becomes a gateway to bring these tools out of labs into real-world use for visually impaired communities.

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Beyond Launches — A Full Ecosystem of Inclusion & Innovation

The symposium was much more than a software-rollout. It was designed as a convergence of research, technology, and social impact:

  •  The programme began with a welcome address by Dr. Dharmvir Sharma, Director of RCTDPLC, who outlined ongoing Bhashini-related research efforts at the Centre.
  • The keynote was delivered by Prof. C. V. Jawahar of IIIT Hyderabad, who discussed recent advances in AI — especially in recognition systems for Indian-language text — and the emerging potential of assistive technologies for visually challenged users.
  • The event also included expert talks, including one by Rajender Negi from the National Institute for Empowerment of Persons with Visual Disabilities (NIEPVD), and a presidential address by Dr. Jaswinder Singh Brar. 

 

These sessions emphasized how AI, deep-learning OCR/TTS, multilingual language support, Braille conversion, and mobile accessibility apps — all under Bhashini’s umbrella — are not just technical innovations but tools for social empowerment and digital inclusion.

 

From Innovation to Inclusion — The Social Impact Angle

For visually impaired individuals, the ability to access books, educational texts, newspapers, historical records, and everyday documents in their own languages — in audio or Braille format, or via accessible mobile apps — can be life-changing.

– A student needing textbooks in Punjabi now has a pathway for audio versions.

– A library of old printed books in Punjabi, Hindi, or other Indian languages can be converted to accessible digital formats.

– Research, law and governance archives — once only in print — can be made accessible, searchable, and usable.

– Research, law and governance archives — once only in print — can be made accessible, searchable, and usable.

By combining multilingual support, AI-based OCR/TTS, Braille conversion, collaborative social-welfare partnerships, and academic research, the symposium offered a vision of a future where inclusion isn’t the exception — it’s the standard.