World's first AI model developed to crack the historic Modi script

In a landmark initiative, the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (IIT Roorkee) has co-developed the world's first AI framework for transliterating the historic Modi script into Devanagari. Leveraging a Vision-Language Model (VLM) architecture, the model MoScNet offers a powerful tool for preserving medieval manuscripts and supporting large-scale digitization under initiatives like Digital India and Bhashini.

The project, titled Historic Scripts to Modern Vision, introduces MoDeTrans, the first dataset of its kind. It features over 2,000 images of real Modi script manuscripts spanning three historical eras - Shivakalin, Peshwekalin, and Anglakalin, along with expert-verified Devanagari transliterations.

The AI model MoScNet was led by Prof. Sparsh Mittal of IIT Roorkee, and it significantly outperforms existing OCR models and offers a scalable, lightweight solution ideal for deployment in low-resource environments.

The research team also included contributions from students, Harshal and Tanvi, who pursued their studies at COEP Technological University (formerly College of Engineering, Pune) and Onkar, an alumnus of Vishwakarma Institute of Information Technology, Pune. 

Prof. Kamal Kishore Pant, Director, IIT Roorkee, said, "This work shows how we can harness the power of AI not just for automation, but to revive our cultural heritage, empower academic research, and drive nation-building. It captures the true spirit of Viksit Bharat, preserving India's timeless wisdom and making it accessible to the world through technology."