161 services through WhatsApp from today

Andhra Pradesh is set to become the first State in the country to implement ‘WhatsApp governance’, as 161 government services will be available online from Thursday onwards. During a review meeting held at the State Secretariat here on Wednesday in this regard, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said that the practice of the citizens making rounds to the government offices for obtaining various certificates will henceforth be put to an end.
At the same time, CM Chandrababu stressed the need for initiating steps to ensure that the information of citizens should not fall into the hands of cyber criminals, and told the officers to take necessary measures in this direction. He emphasised the need to strengthen the forensic and cyber security wings.
Stating that the State government entered into an agreement with Meta on October 22 last year, the Chief Minister said that WhatsApp governance will facilitate speedy delivery of public service to the people at a time when the State government is moving ahead to take Andhra Pradesh to the top position in using digital technology.   The Minister for Information Technology (IT) and Electronics, Nara Lokesh, will officially launch the WhatsApp governance on Thursday.
Chief Secretary K Vijayananad and other officials were present at the review meeting. The officials gave a PowerPoint presentation on WhatsApp governance to the Chief Minister, during which they explained in detail how those who want to utilise the WhatsApp services can select their options. Though 161 services are set to be launched initially, more services will soon be made available. As of now, services with regard to various departments, including Endowments, Energy, APSRTC, Revenue, Anna Canteens, CMRF and Municipal Administration are available.