Mana Mitra: Revolutionizing Governance with WhatsApp

Andhra Pradesh's IT Minister, Nara Lokesh, announced the expansion of the 'Mana Mitra' platform to include 500 government services by June 30. This initiative aims to make government services as accessible as private services, integrating AI and voice-enabled technology for efficient governance.

On Tuesday, Andhra Pradesh IT Minister Nara Lokesh announced in the Assembly that the 'Mana Mitra' WhatsApp governance platform will facilitate 500 government services by the end of June.

Lokesh revealed that the platform will introduce AI-powered, voice-enabled services within the next 100 days, pending necessary legislative amendments. The goal is to make governance as user-friendly as ordering food or booking movie tickets, adopting the 'Visible Governance - Invisible Government' model.

Currently, 200 services are operational, with an additional 300 expected by month-end. Lokesh indicated a partnership with Meta for integrating AI voice services, aiming for seamless Government to Citizen (G2C) interactions. By January 2025, 1.23 crore G2C transactions had been made via WhatsApp, and efforts are focused on ensuring quick service delivery, Aadhaar-linked authentication, and cybersecurity.

(With inputs from agencies.)