Mana Mithra is a game changer in governance: Lokesh

Vijayawada: Out of the total 1.23 crore Govt to Citizen (G2C) transactions that took place since January, 51 lakh transactions occurred on 'Mana Mithra', the WhatsApp governance initiative launched by the state govt, said minister Nara Lokesh.
Speaking during a discussion on WhatsApp governance in the assembly on Tuesday, Lokesh stated that the state govt is scaling up Mana Mithra with an AI-powered voice enabling system to improve efficiency and increase the speed of the platform in service delivery.
Describing Mana Mithra as the beginning of reforms in governance, Lokesh mentioned that the aim of the initiative is to provide visible governance with an invisible govt. "People should not depend on officials or politicians for basic services and certificates. We see it as a game changer in governance as it is being scaled up from the current 200 services to 500 services by June," he said.
Lokesh further explained that in the next phase, the services will be integrated with QR codes and AI-enabled voice commands. While the certificates with QR codes will reduce costs on security paper, AI-enabled chatbots will simplify the process with just a voice command. Lokesh said that the govt is planning to offer the services in multiple languages so that people who speak Kannada, Tamil, and Odiya will also find it convenient to use the platform. "Why should we restrict it to three languages? We want everyone, speakers of any language, to use our govt services as conveniently as others," he said.
Mana Mithra is currently offering 77 services in the endowments department, starting from temple darshan booking to donations. However, the services of TTD are presently not available. Lokesh said that chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu has directed the provision of TTD services on WhatsApp governance, and necessary integration of services is being done in coordination with the TTD. Lokesh assured that the TTD services can be availed on WhatsApp governance in the next 30 days.
Lokesh further mentioned that they are planning to introduce a feedback mechanism to improve efficiency and also to launch Govt to Business (G2B) services like applying for permissions and incentives on WhatsApp to bring transparency. Real-time verification of documents with AI will be done to process the applications.