National contest invites AI-powered solutions; submissions open till August 17
Srinagar : The National Institute of Technology (NIT) Srinagar has launched KATHE 2026, a national-level AI Challenge aimed at enhancing the Kashmiri language through Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Natural Language Processing (NLP).
Organized by Gaash Lab in collaboration with the Bureau of Indian Standards and the University of Kashmir, with GitHub as the primary sponsor, this initiative seeks to engage students and researchers in developing English-to-Kashmiri machine translation models. The competition will be hosted on the Kaggle platform, providing participants with the opportunity to build, test, and evaluate their models for a language that is underrepresented in AI systems. KATHE 2026 aims to foster a collaborative environment among academia, researchers, and technology stakeholders, promoting innovation while preserving linguistic heritage. Online submissions are currently open, with a deadline set for August 17, 2026. The competition will culminate in an offline finale at NIT Srinagar on August 21, 2026, where shortlisted teams will present their models. The event will also include expert lectures and discussions on AI, NLP, and the challenges of developing technologies for low-resource languages. The initiative aspires to inspire future AI researchers to create inclusive language technologies that reflect India’s linguistic diversity, ultimately integrating Kashmiri into the digital and AI landscape. KATHE 2026 represents a significant step towards advancing research and innovation in regional language computing.
