Press Coverage of the Voice-Technology Ecosystem Report & Toolkit launch

Voice technologies are integral to digital inclusion in India, shaping how millions access public services, information, and the digital economy. Against this backdrop, the new Policy Report and Developers’ Toolkit on voice technologies was launched at the India AI Summit Expo 2026 on February 20, 2026 to set out a policy and practice framework supporting open, inclusive, and responsible voice technologies.

Reporting on the launch, the Press Information Bureau noted that “voice technologies represent a critical layer of digital public infrastructure, lowering barriers to digital access through speech-based applications. However, the development and deployment of speech technologies also raise complex questions around data governance, inclusion, openness, quality, and responsible use. Addressing these challenges requires alignment between policy frameworks, technical practices, and ecosystem-level coordination.”

The Policy Report and Developers’ Toolkit were jointly developed by ARTPARK @IISc, Digital Futures Lab and Trilegal with support from Digital India BHASHINI Division and the FAIR Forward - AI for All initiative, implemented by GIZ (German Development Cooperation) funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), bringing together research, technical expertise, and ecosystem collaboration to advance responsible speech technologies in India.

The reports were launched by Mr Amitabh Nag, CEO, Digital India Bhashini Division and Dr Ariane Hildebrandt, Director-General, of the Department for global health, equality of opportunity, digital technologies and food security; German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development followed by a presentation of the reports by Harleen Kaur, Research Manager at Digital Futures Lab.

A panel discussion, moderated by Nihar Desai, Head, GenAI Program, ARTPARK, with panelists Mr Amitabh Nag, CEO, Digital India BHASHINI Division, Dr Prasanta Ghosh, Associate Professor, Indian Institute of Science, Dr Kruthika KR, Head Artificial Intelligence and Product Researcher, Sandlogic, and Mr Thomas Vallianeth, Counsel, Trilegal, emphasised the need for collaboration across stakeholders to build representative and inclusive voice-technologies.