India's Anusandhan National Research Foundation has deployed an AI platform to translate dense scientific papers and patents into podcasts, videos, and social media content in 18 Indian languages. The tool, called SARAL AI, moves beyond text summaries to generate multiple content formats, a shift that could reshape how publicly funded research reaches non-academic audiences.
The platform is already in use at the CSIR-National Institute of Science Communication and Policy Research, which is converting journal articles into short videos. During a visit to the institute, ANRF CEO Dr Shivkumar Kalyanaraman highlighted SARAL AI as a tool for creating short videos from research papers and encouraged its use to simplify complex scientific research for the public.
From journal pages to video feeds
CSIR-NIScPR ran a hands-on workshop with more than 90 participants, including editors and researchers. The sessions focused on turning published research into accessible video content. The resulting videos are being distributed through a dedicated YouTube playlist, giving students and the general public a direct path to Indian scientific work without navigating paywalled journals.
The platform supports output in formats that go well beyond video. Research can be converted into podcasts, posters, business briefs, presentations, and social media posts. This multi-format approach reflects ANRF's goal of communicating research outcomes beyond traditional academic circles, particularly through digital channels that early-career researchers already use.
Building infrastructure for research translation
SARAL AI sits inside a larger push by ANRF to accelerate how research moves into practice. Its MAHA programmes bring academia, industry, and government together around mission-driven work. One planned initiative, Leapfrog Demonstrators for Societal Innovation, will target solutions in climate resilience, disaster management, sustainable agriculture, community health, and energy efficiency.
The Foundation has also processed nearly 20,000 research applications in four months under schemes including the Advanced Research Grant and the Prime Minister's Early Career Research Grant. To ease administrative friction, nodal officers have been appointed in roughly 250 institutions to support Principal Investigators. ANRF has launched WhatsApp and Arattai channels for real-time updates and introduced the PMECRG Lightning Talk Series, which gives researchers a platform to present work in short, direct formats.
Why this matters for Science and Research professionals
SARAL AI signals a structural change in how Indian research funding bodies approach dissemination. For researchers, the immediate implication is practical: grant outcomes can now be repackaged into formats that reach policymakers, industry partners, and the public without requiring separate communication budgets or media training. For science communicators and journal editors, the tool offers a template for what AI for Science & Research looks like when applied to real publishing workflows - not a theoretical demo, but a working pipeline producing content now. The multilingual, multi-format nature of the platform also creates new expectations: researchers who ignore these channels may find their work has less visibility than peers who adopt them.
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