The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has launched the third edition of its flagship AICTE-VAANI (Active Advocacy for Development and Nurture of Indian Languages) scheme, reiterating its commitment to promote Indian languages in technical education. The scheme was inaugurated by AICTE Chairman Prof. Yogesh Singh with the launch of a dedicated online portal for the scheme document and applications.Addressing the launch, Prof. Yogesh Singh said that the AICTE-VAANI scheme aims to build a strong and inclusive academic ecosystem in regional languages, enabling students and researchers to access the latest technological developments in their mother tongues. He emphasized that this initiative will encourage the publication of research papers in Indian languages and strengthen collaboration between academia and industry, thereby increasing the reach and impact of technological knowledge among diverse linguistic groups. Many students, after completing schooling in their mother tongue, face challenges when they enter higher education and see English as the medium of instruction, he added, adding that they can perform much better when concepts are taught in their mother tongues.AICTE Member Secretary Prof. Shyama Rath said that the scheme will play an important role in making technical education more accessible and meaningful to students across the country. He further said that ensuring the availability of study materials and creating a supportive learning environment in the mother tongues of the students will greatly benefit the learners and contribute to the overall development of the nation.Under the scheme, financial assistance of Rs. 4 crores will be provided annually for 200 conferences, seminars and workshops, each selected institution will get Rs. 2 lakh The events will be held over a period of two to three days and will be conducted in 22 regional languages including Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Marathi, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Punjabi, Urdu and others. The scheme will cover 16 key areas in emerging domains such as artificial intelligence and data science, quantum technology, hydrogen energy, cybersecurity, space and defence, and agrotech. Applications from AICTE approved institutions will be invited online from 18 April to 17 May 2026 through the AICTE-ATAL portal at https://www.aicte-india.org/atal. Since its inception, the VAANI scheme has facilitated the publication of over 200 research papers in Indian languages, contributed to the development of a strong knowledge base, encouraged content creation, and fostered collaboration between institutions and industry. This initiative continues to promote inclusion and equal opportunities in technical education across India.
