Udaan offers high-fidelity translation of academic and technical information into Indian languages by combining optical character recognition (OCR), layout preservation, domain-specific glossaries, and human-in-the-loop editing.
In order to further inclusive and egalitarian education, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay and Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), a leader in distance learning platforms, have inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to work together on Project Udaan, an AI-driven translation platform.
Udaan offers high-fidelity translation of academic and technical information into Indian languages by combining optical character recognition (OCR), layout preservation, domain-specific glossaries, and human-in-the-loop editing. According to a statement, IGNOU hopes to increase access for students nationwide by collaborating to make its vast educational materials available in a number of regional languages.
According to the announcement, the partnership advances the objectives of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, namely the focus on academic equity, digital access, and multilingual education.
The Vice Chancellor of IGNOU presided over the signing event, which took place at the IGNOU Headquarters on Friday. Senior academic leadership also attended the ceremony.
IIT Bombay was represented at the event by Prof. Ganesh Ramakrishnan, the principle investigator of Udaan and chair professor of Digital Entrepreneurship at the Bank of Baroda.
“Our goal to democratize higher education is powerfully aligned with this relationship with IIT Bombay. We want to empower students across India and close the language gap with Project Udaan,” stated the V-C of IGNOU.
“Udaan is designed to serve the linguistic and educational diversity of India,” stated Prof. Ramakrishnan. With IGNOU’s sizable student body, this MoU represents a crucial step in converting that vision into impact at scale.
“This partnership demonstrates IGNOU’s dedication to educational equity and innovation,” stated Prof. Nayantara Padhi, an IGNOU MoU coordinator and professor at the School of Management Studies.
“We are opening new doors for learners in regional and rural contexts by integrating AI-enabled translation tools with our academic delivery, which will now give them access to high-quality content in their own languages,” she continued.
The announcement said, “It also strengthens India’s position in culturally grounded and inclusive AI research by supporting national missions like Digital India and Bharat Bhasha.”
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