At CPS Lab, we are thrilled to announce that our research scholar, Vajratiya Vajrabol, has been awarded the Favorable Project Award by the Jury at the prestigious Bhasha Techathon 2024. This recognition comes as part of a competition that saw some of the brightest minds in the field of Natural Language Processing (NLP) working to develop innovative language solutions for India.
The Bhasha Techathon is a leading event organized by BHASHINI, in collaboration with MachineHack and Google Cloud, to foster the development of technology solutions that enhance language accessibility in India. The event aligns with the Digital India Bhashini Division’s goal to make AI/ML-based language technology solutions available as digital public goods, furthering inclusivity in education, healthcare, and other essential services.
With six problem statements presented, the Bhasha Techathon invited participants to solve real-world challenges around multilingual NLP, speech-to-text translation, and language processing systems. Vajratiya focused on Problem Statement #2, which centered around the Conversion of the FAQs section on the website into multiple Indian languages.
Vajratiya’s project involved creating a speech-to-text complaint system for the Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS), a crucial platform for registering and processing complaints in a multilingual country like India. Her solution supports 22 Indian Scheduled Languages, leveraging a powerful combination of technologies such as Google Gemini, ChatGPT, Whisper (Automatic Speech Recognition), and advanced machine learning models. The system was implemented using Streamlit, providing a seamless and interactive user experience.
By addressing the complexities of multilingual NLP, Vajratiya’s project aims to transform how public systems like CRIS handle complaints and feedback from users who speak different languages. The prototype shows the potential to significantly improve accessibility and efficiency, aligning perfectly with the goals of the Bhashini initiative.
The Bhasha Techathon jury, which included prominent figures like Amitabh Nag (CEO of BHASHINI), Dolly Bhasin (Founder of SmartEdge), and Poonam Bansal (Professor and Head of AI & Data Sciences at IGDTUW), praised Vajratiya’s innovative solution for its technical sophistication and real-world applicability. The Favorable Project Award acknowledges the quality of her work and its potential to make a meaningful impact on language accessibility in India.
Reflecting on her experience, Vajratiya expressed gratitude to BHASHINI and MachineHack for organizing such an impactful event, as well as to the CPS Lab for their constant support. In a LinkedIn post, she shared her excitement about the award and highlighted how the competition gave her an opportunity to apply cutting-edge AI/ML technologies to a real-world problem.
This accomplishment not only showcases Vajratiya’s brilliance but also highlights CPS Lab’s commitment to fostering research that solves practical problems using the power of technology. We are incredibly proud of Vajratiya’s achievement and look forward to seeing her project evolve and contribute further to the field of multilingual NLP and beyond.
As CPS Lab continues to push the boundaries of innovation, achievements like this remind us of the impact research can have on society. By promoting inclusivity and accessibility, Vajratiya’s work embodies the values that we strive for at CPS Lab.
Team CPS congratulates Vajratiya on her outstanding achievement and wishes her continued success in all her future endeavors!
