Gujarat brings 20 public services online to cut delays, paperwork

Gandhinagar, March 23 (IANS) The Gujarat government has brought 20 of its highest-demand public services online, aiming to ease access and reduce processing time for lakhs of applicants, according to an official statement issued on Monday.
 

The move targets services that account for a substantial share of applications on the state's 'Digital Gujarat' platform, which receives nearly 1.2 crore applications annually.

Of these, around 87 lakh applications are linked to the 20 services now being digitised, highligthing their importance in citizens' day-to-day interactions with the state government.

The decision follows recommendations made in the fifth report of the Gujarat Administrative Reforms Commission (GARC) and forms part of the "Sugam Digital Gujarat" initiative being implemented by the state's Science and Technology Department.

"Under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, the government is reaching citizens at their doorstep and is making the 20 most-applied services citizen-centric by bringing them online," the statement said.

The state government said the initiative is designed to promote faceless, cashless and paperless governance.

"The primary objective of this initiative is to make government services simpler, faster and more transparent so that citizens can access them easily at their fingertips," it added.

The services included in the first phase span five departments.

The Social Justice and Empowerment Department accounts for 11 services, including Socially and Economically Backward Classes certificates (rural and urban), non-creamy layer certificates for both the state government and the Central government, Scheduled Caste certificates, Economically Weaker Section certificates, and income certificates.

The Food and Civil Supplies Department has six services, covering addition and deletion of names in ration cards, corrections, issuance of separate ration cards, new ration cards and duplicate ration cards.

The Revenue Department has included a request for copy service, while the Legal Department has brought an affidavit-related service online.

The Tribal Development Department has included issuance of Scheduled Tribe caste certificates.

According to the state government, only about four per cent of services on the Digital Gujarat platform currently have end-to-end digital delivery, with many still being provided through Jan Seva Kendras and e-Gram centres.

Officials said this reflects both the strength of the existing service delivery network and the scope for further digital expansion.

The new system allows citizens to enter their data once and reuse it across multiple services.

Application forms have been simplified and requirements for unnecessary documents removed.

Documents will be verified digitally through Aadhaar-based authentication, API-enabled online record checks, and integration with DigiLocker.

Additional features include e-Sign facilities, QR code-enabled certificates, online payments through UPI and service delivery through messaging platforms.

"With services becoming faceless, citizens will receive transparent services through the online portal," the statement said.

The state government said the changes are expected to reduce approval stages through process re-engineering, leading to faster disposal of applications.

It added that the absence of a requirement to visit offices would help citizens save both time and travel costs, while improved data integration would enhance accuracy and reduce errors in issued certificates.

"The state government is realising Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of a Developed India. Citizen-centric governance remains at the core of government services," the statement said.

The administration added that more services will be brought under the Sugam Digital Gujarat initiative in the future, alongside plans to undertake technology-driven projects, including the development of artificial intelligence models in the Gujarati language.