KOCHI: Kerala’s citizen-centric e-governance platform, K-Smart, is rapidly gaining acceptance, with the government receiving Rs 1,709 crore through the platform for various services since its launch on January 1, 2024. Currently operational in 93 urban local bodies, the state government has announced plans to extend K-Smart to all 941 grama panchayats, 152 block panchayats, and 14 district panchayats starting April 10.
Till February 13, 2025, a total of 23.12 lakh files were approved through K-Smart, accounting for 75.6% of the total applications received. The Kerala Solutions for Managing Administrative Reformation and Transformation (K-Smart) platform allows citizens to access a range of services online, including birth, death, and marriage registrations, building permits, and property tax payments, etc.
Santhosh Babu, chairman and managing director of the Information Kerala Mission (IKM), the implementing agency of the K-Smart project, said the platform plays a huge role in reducing bureaucratic delays. “Earlier, obtaining a birth or death certificate took a minimum of seven days. Now, the same service is available within just 25 minutes through K-Smart,” he said.
To sustain the platform, the government issued an order on Friday imposing a nominal fee on various services. Charges include Rs 5 each for birth, death, and marriage certificates and Rs 10 each for property tax payments, building age certificates, and residential certificates. “We requested the government to introduce a minimal fee to cover operational costs. This is significantly lower than the cost and time spent by citizens visiting government offices for the same services,” Santhosh added.
According to data shared by IKM, K-Smart has processed 1.50 lakh files during holidays and cleared 7.25 lakh files outside regular office hours—an unprecedented improvement in government service delivery.
Looking ahead, K-Smart will introduce additional modules to further enhance accessibility and efficiency.