Mumbai, Feb 28
The Maharashtra government on Friday announced a partnership with social media giant Meta to launch WhatsApp-based citizen services and drive digital transformation, enhancing the lives of citizens as well as improving efficiencies in governance.
The collaboration announced during the ongoing Mumbai Tech Week 2025, aims to provide all citizen services via WhatsApp on a single number. This will empower 125 million citizens to access government services from anywhere, at any time.
The chatbot, 'Aaple Sarkar', will be available in three languages -- Marathi, English, and Hindi. It will also offer services via both text and voice.
Aaple Sarkar chatbot will bring various services like addressing grievances, downloading critical documents and certificates, convenience services like booking bus tickets via MSRTC or BEST. The chatbot will also provide timely information to farmers and citizens across Maharashtra.
"The Government of Maharashtra is committed to harnessing the power of open-source Gen AI technology to improve and simplify access to public services. In partnership with Meta, we are taking a significant step in not only making government services digitally accessible through WhatsApp but also more efficient, bridging the gap between governance and the people," said Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister of Maharashtra.
In addition, the Fadnavis-led government will use Meta's open-source large language model -- Llama -- to enhance efficiency and productivity in the administration.
Meta will undertake a pilot to develop and implement a Gen AI solution aimed at enhancing the accessibility of government documentation and accelerating decision-making. The solution will be powered by Llama's reasoning engine and boost overall productivity for government officials.
"We are excited to collaborate with the Government of Maharashtra to enhance process efficiencies using Llama and to launch the digital services chatbot, which brings the power of technology to the fingertips of the people of Maharashtra," said Sandhya Devanathan, Vice President, Meta in India.
"The ease and simplicity of WhatsApp make it a preferred choice for people to get things done. We are confident that through this chatbot, we will redefine the way people connect with government services, making them more convenient and accessible," she added.
- IANS