NEW DELHI: Birth and caste certificates may soon be accessible through WhatsApp in Delhi. These are among the 50 public services that the Delhi government has identified for a digital shift.
Under the ‘Governance through WhatsApp’ initiative, services currently accessed online will transition to WhatsApp using AI, a senior government officer said.
Users can interact with a bilingual chatbot in Hindi and English to receive guidance on applying for services and documents, uploading necessary papers, and paying fees, he said. The project is shaped by the Information Technology Department, which previously operated the doorstep delivery of government services under the previous regime in Delhi.
To execute the WhatsApp services model, a dashboard will be developed for real-time monitoring and management of the departments’ interactions with the applicants, he said. The project will be implemented by a tech company that the government will engage to design and deploy the system.
Meanwhile, WhatsApp is currently developing a new feature: unique usernames allowing users to chat without even sharing their mobile numbers.