Hyderabad: Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has directed state officials to initiate the creation of a multi-purpose Unified Card designed to consolidate citizen details, welfare benefits and inter-departmental government touchpoints into a single platform.
Special data collection drive soon
The initiative was outlined during a high-level meeting on Wednesday attended by the Chief Minister, Minister for Industries and Commerce D Sridhar Babu, Chief Secretary K Ramakrishna Rao, IAS, and other senior officials.
To facilitate the rollout, the Chief Minister instructed officials to launch a special drive to collect comprehensive individual and family-oriented data across the state.
Leveraging AI
This data collection will serve as the foundation for an Artificial Intelligence (AI) based profiling system designed for the dynamic tracking of beneficiary data.
The administration aims to leverage AI to:
- Eliminate the duplication of welfare benefits.
- Reduce bureaucratic delays in extending government services.
- Minimise human interface to streamline delivery and identify ineligible beneficiaries.
Centralised issuance and core data points
Rather than allowing individual departments to issue separate cards, the Chief Minister directed that the IT department centrally manage the issuance of the Unified Cards, utilising the expertise of technology-proficient government personnel.
The card's profile will aggregate data from multiple welfare-centric sectors, including:
- Health services (Aarogyasri and the Chief Minister's Relief Fund)
- Education and fee reimbursement
- Labour and employment
- Information from the Socio-Economic, Education, Employment, Political, and Caste (EPC) Survey
The state will also explore the potential creation of a state-level unique identity number to support the system. Additionally, the profiling mechanism is planned to extend to contract and outsourcing employees within the government.
Tracking migrations by centralising data
The Chief Minister highlighted automated workflows as a key utility of the system, noting that the issuance of a death certificate should automatically update relevant databases, such as those governing Cheyutha pensions.
The system will also integrate comprehensive individual health profiles.
Furthermore, the platform is intended to track citizen migration, particularly to the Middle East, by centralising data on state skilling initiatives, passports and visas.
Officials have been asked to study existing best practices from states like Kerala to help reduce the influence of unauthorised agents in the migration ecosystem.
The primary objective of the Unified Card, according to the administration, is to enhance ease and accuracy in assessing and delivering welfare services to the state's residents.