As India’s digital governance accelerates, the need for instant, multilingual communication with citizens has become more critical than ever. Traditional content creation methods struggle to meet the demand for speed, scale, and diversity across India's languages and cultures. To bridge this gap, the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, GOI, through its WaveX Startup Accelerator, has launched “Kalaa Setu—Real-Time Language Tech for Bharat,” a nationwide challenge calling on AI startups to drive the next wave of inclusive communication.

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A Platform for Scalable AI-Powered Content Generation

Kalaa Setu invites India’s AI innovators to build scalable solutions that can automatically generate multimedia content—videos, graphics, and audio—from simple text inputs across multiple Indian languages.

Startups are tasked with creating solutions in three key areas:

Text-to-Video Generation: Automated video creation customised for tone, theme, and audience.
Text-to-Graphics Generation: AI-powered infographic and visual design from data or text.
Text-to-Audio Generation: Emotionally rich, regional accent-sensitive voice synthesis.

These technologies aim to enable government bodies to communicate critical updates—such as weather alerts, exam notifications, or healthcare advisories—in visually engaging, voice-based, and regional formats, making public outreach faster, relatable, and more effective.

Driving Citizen-Centric Communication

The goal of Kalaa Setu is to democratise access to public information. Whether a farmer in rural India needs crop advisories in his mother tongue or a student seeks exam updates in a video explainer format, these AI solutions will help deliver meaningful content instantly and in the language citizens best understand.

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How to Participate

Startups can apply via the WaveX portal (wavex.wavesbazaar.com) under the “Kalaa Setu” category. Applicants must submit a working Minimum Viable Concept (MVC) with a video demonstration by July 30, 2025.

Shortlisted teams will pitch their solutions before a national jury in New Delhi. Winners will receive:

• A government MoU for full-scale development
• Pilot collaboration opportunities with All India Radio (AIR), Doordarshan (DD), and Press Information Bureau (PIB)
• Incubation and mentorship under the WaveX Innovation Platform.
• Detailed technical guidelines and submission requirements are available on the WaveX portal.

Bhasha Setu Challenge

The Bhasha Setu real-time language translation challenge, also under WaveX, is open for applications till July 30, 2025. Startups working on real-time translation solutions for Indian languages can apply under the “Bhasha Setu” category on the same portal.

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Enabling an Inclusive AI-Driven Governance Ecosystem

Kalaa Setu and Bhasha Setu are part of the Government of India’s broader mission to leverage indigenous AI for inclusive, real-time communication. These initiatives aim to strengthen last-mile information delivery, ensuring that India’s linguistic diversity becomes a driver, not a barrier, for digital transformation.

About WaveX

WaveX is the startup accelerator under the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting’s WAVES initiative, focused on nurturing startups in media, entertainment, and language technologies. At the WAVES Summit 2025, WaveX provided a platform for over 30 startups to pitch directly to government agencies and investors. Through hackathons, incubation, and partnerships with national platforms, WaveX continues to accelerate innovation at the intersection of technology and communication.