Bhubaneswar: Citizens in Odisha will no longer need to queue up at government offices for essential documents, as a wide range of public services including driver’s licence (DL), birth, death, and income certificates will now be available through WhatsApp.

In a landmark step towards citizen-centric governance, Odisha Government on Friday launched ‘Ama Sathi’, a unified WhatsApp chatbot designed to provide seamless access to over 120 public services. 

Developed by the Centre for Modernizing Government Initiative (CMGI) in collaboration with Meta India, the chatbot was formally unveiled by Chief Secretary Manoj Ahuja at Lok Seva Bhavan.

Through a single WhatsApp number (9437292000), more than 45 million citizens across the state can now apply for birth, income, and residence certificates, driving and fertiliser licences, and avail of schemes such as the National Family Benefit Scheme and inter-caste marriage incentives. The chatbot also facilitates grievance redressal, access to housing and urban development services, and information related to education, agriculture, police assistance, and land records.

The service is available in Odia and English, with integrated voice capabilities. Citizens unfamiliar with these languages can use BHASHINI, a voice-to-text app, to avail services. The state plans to expand the platform to cover over 500 services by March 2026, ensuring last-mile access to governance.

Alongside the chatbot, the Chief Secretary also launched a dynamic Central Monitoring System (CMS) Dashboard under the Odisha Right to Public Services Act (ORTPSA) to track service delivery and strengthen accountability.

Speaking at the event, Chief Secretary Manoj Ahuja said, “The Government of Odisha is committed to delivering seamless public services and eliminating bureaucratic hurdles. With Ama Sathi, we are making governance transparent, accountable, and inclusive, empowering citizens across both urban and remote areas.”

Development Commissioner Anu Garg stressed the importance of doorstep governance and timely service delivery, while General Administration and Public Grievance (GA & PG) Additional Chief Secretary Surendra Kumar highlighted upcoming state-wide awareness campaigns through hoardings, bus branding, and media outreach to ensure citizens make full use of the initiative.

Meta India’s leadership, including Arun Srinivas (MD & Country Head, India) and Ravi Garg (Director, Business Messaging, India), hailed the initiative as a transformative example of technology-enabled governance, making Odisha the second state in India to deploy WhatsApp as a unified platform for citizen services.

The launch event was attended by senior government officials including Development Commissioner-cum-Additional Chief Secretary Anu Garg, ACS Surendra Kumar, DG Gopabandhu Academy of Administration G. Mathivathanan, ACS Hemant Sharma, Principal Secretaries Vishal Dev, Usha Padhee, and former Information Commissioner Jagadananda. The event concluded with a vote of thanks from Debabrata Mallick, Addl. Secretary, GA & PG Department.