New Delhi, Jan 25 (IANS): Microsoft on Thursday announced the addition of two new Indian languages -- Chhattisgarhi and Manipuri in Microsoft Translator.

With this latest addition, Microsoft Translator now supports a total of 20 official Indian languages, including Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu, and two other vernacular languages -- Bhojpuri, and Chhattisgarhi, covering more than 95 per cent of the country’s population.

"We are proud to announce the addition of Manipuri and Chhattisgarhi languages in Microsoft Translator that broadens our reach and coverage of India’s linguistic and cultural diversity," Rajiv Kumar, Managing Director - Microsoft India, said in a statement.

"We strive to make a profound impact through our products, leveraging advanced AI technologies that foster social inclusion and collaboration without barriers, contributing to India’s inclusive economic growth," he added.

The company said that the addition of Chhattisgarhi and Manipuri is a testament to Microsoft’s commitment of supporting and empowering the linguistic diversity of India through its innovative language technologies and solutions.

Chhattisgarhi is spoken by around 16 million people in the states of Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra.

Manipuri is spoken by approximately three million people in the state of Manipur and by some communities in Assam and Tripura as well as some parts of Bangladesh and Myanmar.

Microsoft Translator is powered by deep neural networks, a form of artificial intelligence that can learn from large amounts of data and produce natural-sounding translations.

It also supports transliteration, which converts text from one script to another, enabling users to read and write in their preferred language.