Andhra Pradesh to Integrate 100 Citizen Services on WhatsApp

Amaravati - The Andhra Pradesh government announced plans to integrate at least 100 citizen services into WhatsApp, making it easier for residents to access essential services through the popular messaging app. The announcement came Friday during a meeting chaired by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, who urged officials to prioritize citizen convenience by delivering services through WhatsApp.

Minister for Information Technology and Real Time Governance (RTG), Nara Lokesh, informed the Chief Minister that efforts are underway to launch the first 100 services within a short timeframe. Additionally, the government aims to enable students to obtain their academic qualification certificates via QR code within the next 90 days.

The Chief Minister emphasized the need to raise awareness among both officials and citizens about the existing guidelines that eliminate the requirement for physical certificates with digital signatures. He also directed officials to expedite the collection and interlinking of data for 40 lakh residents still missing from the state's database.

Naidu further stressed the importance of data integration for transparency and corruption prevention. He urged officials to prioritize linking all houses in the state through the Global Positioning System (GPS) and to ensure that every citizen, including newborns, has an Aadhaar card.

The Chief Minister underscored the role of RTG as a central data resource for the government, advocating for the consolidation of data from various departments onto a single platform. The integrated data system should analyze all government schemes and programs to improve their effectiveness. The Chief Minister emphasized that RTG should support the ruling dispensation at all times.

Naidu expressed concern over the current system that requires citizens to make numerous visits to government offices for essential certificates like birth, death, and residential certificates. The Chief Minister stressed the need to improve the system by ensuring that citizens no longer have to make multiple visits to government offices to obtain certificates such as birth, death, residential, revenue, and academic qualification certificates.