We present INDICVOICES, a dataset of natural and spontaneous speech
containing a total of 7348 hours of read (9%), extempore (74%) and
conversational (17%) audio from 16237 speakers covering 145 Indian districts
and 22 languages. Of these 7348 hours, 1639 hours have already been
transcribed, with a median of 73 hours per language. Through this paper, we
share our journey of capturing the cultural, linguistic and demographic
diversity of India to create a one-of-its-kind inclusive and representative
dataset. More specifically, we share an open-source blueprint for data
collection at scale comprising of standardised protocols, centralised tools, a
repository of engaging questions, prompts and conversation scenarios spanning
multiple domains and topics of interest, quality control mechanisms,
comprehensive transcription guidelines and transcription tools. We hope that
this open source blueprint will serve as a comprehensive starter kit for data
collection efforts in other multilingual regions of the world. Using
INDICVOICES, we build IndicASR, the first ASR model to support all the 22
languages listed in the 8th schedule of the Constitution of India. All the
data, tools, guidelines, models and other materials developed as a part of this
work will be made publicly available

我们提供了 INDICVOICES 数据集，该数据集包含来自 16237 名发言人的 7348 小时自然和自发的语音，涵盖了 145 个印度地区和 22 种语言。通过本文，我们分享了捕捉印度文化、语言和人口多样性的旅程，为数据收集提供了标准化协议、集中工具、引人入胜的问题、提示和对话场景库，以及质量控制机制和全面的转录指南。我们希望这一开源蓝图能够成为其他多语言地区数据收集工作的全面入门指南。利用 INDICVOICES，我们构建了 IndicASR，这是第一个支持印度宪法第八版中列出的 22 种语言的 ASR 模型。本研究的所有数据、工具、指南、模型和其他资料都将公开提供。