PM Modi Witnesses AI Demo on Feature Phones, Aims to Bridge Digital Divide

The collaboration aims to integrate the Sarvam Personal Assistant into Nokia feature phones and HMD devices, bringing advanced AI capabilities to millions of users across India, especially those who do not use smartphones.

Ravi Kunwar, Vice President and CEO of HMD India and APAC, said it was a proud moment for the company to see Sarvam demonstrate its indigenous AI capabilities on our feature phone before the Prime Minister.

"Our partnership with Sarvam marks a defining step in our commitment to democratise AI ensuring that intelligent, localised and intuitive AI experiences are accessible not only to smartphone users, but also to millions of feature phone consumers," Kunwar stated.

Kunwar added that the company plans to roll out the AI-powered features across multiple feature phone models in the coming months.

He said this move will help make AI truly inclusive and accessible to millions of feature phone consumers in India.

A key highlight of the summit was a live demonstration of Sarvam's AI technology on an HMD Nokia feature phone, which was witnessed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The demo showcased real-time speech recognition, translation and text-to-speech features in 10 Indian languages.

Notably, these services worked smoothly without any internet connection -- highlighting the strength of on-device AI technology, the company said.

The demonstration reflected India's growing focus on building inclusive and locally developed AI solutions, it added.

The partnership aligns with the summit's theme of "Sarvajana Hitaya, Sarvajana Sukhaya", which emphasises technology for the welfare and benefit of all.

Sarvam AI's technology is being developed under the IndiaAI Mission and focuses on India's linguistic and cultural diversity.

By offering voice-based AI services in regional languages, the partnership aims to bridge the digital divide and make digital services easier to access.

Through this collaboration, users will be able to get information, manage daily tasks and use digital services simply through voice commands in their preferred local language, the firm stated.

The initiative is expected to set a new benchmark for inclusive AI innovation in the country and strengthen India's position as an emerging global AI leader.

- IANS