KU hosts workshop on language machine translation

Srinagar, Mar 2: To advance research in Indian-language-to-Indian-language (IL-IL) machine translation, the University of Kashmir (KU), in collaboration with the International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT-Hyderabad), organised a four-day workshop on Developing IL-IL Benchmark Data at the varsity from February 25 to 28.
The workshop, part of the HIMANGY (Hindustani Machini Anuvaad Technology) consortium under the broader BHASHINI Project funded by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India, aimed to create benchmark datasets for enhancing machine translation accuracy in multiple Indian languages, including Hindi, Telugu, Kashmiri, Kannada, Gujarati, Sindhi, Dogri, Odia, Punjabi, Urdu, and English.
Vice Chancellor KU, Prof. Nilofer Khan, in her remarks, highlighted the significance of the initiative in strengthening AI-driven language technologies. “Developing robust benchmark datasets is crucial for improving machine translation systems and fostering linguistic inclusivity in the digital era. This initiative aligns with the university’s commitment to interdisciplinary research in Artificial Intelligence and Natural Language Processing,” she said. Prof. Dipti Mishra from IIIT-Hyderabad, emphasized the importance of building strong linguistic benchmarks to support digital inclusivity for Indian languages. “Ensuring representation of diverse languages in machine translation will bridge communication gaps and make digital content more accessible,” she noted.
Prof. Aadil Amin Kak, Department of Linguistics KU, stressed on the workshop’s role in ensuring greater visibility for Kashmiri in the digital space and said that such initiatives would help break linguistic barriers and enhance communication across different language communities. The event saw the participation of 70 researchers from leading institutions across India, including IIT-Patna, Punjabi University-Patiala, IIIT-Bhubaneswar, CDAC-Noida, University of Hyderabad, DAIICT-Ahmedabad, and GCW-Jammu. Experts engaged in collaborative efforts to refine machine translation models, ensuring better accuracy and effectiveness in Indian language processing.