IIIT-Hyderabad uses language AI to open textbooks for visually challenged learners

For most students, accessing textbooks is routine. For visually challenged students, it often means dealing with missing Braille editions, poor audio recordings, or expensive software. A new digital initiative developed at the International Institute of Information Technology Hyderabad (IIIT-H) is now working to change that.

The initiative, called Drishti Library, aims to make higher-education textbooks available in Braille and audiobook formats using artificial intelligence and language technologies.

The project has been developed by researcher Krishna Tulsiyan under the guidance of Professors C V Jawahar and Gurpreet Singh Lehal and is part of the



Government of India’s Bhashini mission, which focuses on building AI-based language tools for Indian languages.

The platform was recently unveiled at a symposium on Language AI for Accessibility. It currently focuses on Punjabi language textbooks and is gradually expanding to other Indian languages and academic disciplines.

“Our objective is to create a library exclusively for visually challenged learners and eventually cover all Indian languages,” Prof. Lehal said. He added that while audiobook libraries exist, they are mostly meant for general reading. “This is the first initiative focused purely on academic content,” he said.