Income and caste certificates, ration card updates, grievance redressal and revenue records will soon be available on WhatsApp in Gujarat after the state government signed an MoU with Meta Platforms Inc. on Monday to roll out chatbot-based citizen services under its Sugam Digital Gujarat initiative.

The agreement was signed in Gandhinagar in the presence of Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and is aimed at strengthening last-mile delivery of government services while simplifying access for citizens across the state.

Under the initiative, nearly 20 citizen-centric services across five key government departments will be made available through WhatsApp-based chatbots in Gujarati and English using a single WhatsApp number. Apart from grievance redressal and ration card-related services, the platform will also offer income, caste and EWS certificates, access to revenue records and official affidavits.

The state government said the move is expected to reduce the need for citizens to navigate multiple web portals or visit government offices physically and wait in queues for routine services. In the coming phases, the platform is expected to support end-to-end delivery of services, from application submission to certificate issuance, directly through mobile phones.

Officials said the implementation of the MoU would also strengthen real-time status tracking of applications and improve transparency and accountability in service delivery. More services are expected to be integrated with the WhatsApp-based governance platform in phases over the coming months.

The government said the initiative would particularly benefit citizens in rural and remote areas by making services accessible through mobile devices with minimal paperwork, time and cost.

The state currently delivers citizen services through Jan Seva Kendras in urban areas and a Village Computer Entrepreneur (VCE)-based system in rural regions. With the partnership with Meta, Gujarat is looking to further expand its digital governance infrastructure and move towards mobile-first delivery of public services.

Published on May 25, 2026