WhatsApp Governance gets ₹100 crore boost in 2026-2027 Budget

The State government has reaffirmed its thrust on digital transformation by formally incorporating WhatsApp Governance in the Budget, signalling the priority accorded to technology-enabled public service delivery.

Branded Mana Mitra WhatsApp Governance, the initiative was launched last year as a flagship e-governance reform under the leadership of Nara Lokesh, Minister for the Real Time Governance Society. At the launch, Mr. Lokesh stated that the platform was designed to provide seamless, accessible and citizen-friendly services as part of the government’s broader good governance agenda.

Since its rollout, the platform has witnessed rapid expansion. More than 500 citizen services have been enabled through WhatsApp, and efforts are under way to onboard additional services to simplify procedures and minimise the need for physical visits to government offices.

Presenting the Budget, Finance Minister Payyavula Keshav allocated about ₹100 crore to the Real Time Governance Society for 2026-2027. The Outcome Budget has set an ambitious target of delivering up to 1,000 services through the platform in the coming year.

In his Budget speech, Mr. Keshav said that the A.P. State Data Lake has strengthened real-time, data-driven governance by integrating data from over 36 departments and 139 databases, thereby creating a unified view of governance performance. He noted that Mana Mitra has been scaled up from 150 to over 900 citizen-centric services in less than a year, substantially reducing physical interface and improving service delivery timelines.

The Budget document mandates the Real Time Governance Society to establish an integrated, real-time data ecosystem to support evidence-based decision-making, transparent monitoring and efficient implementation of government programmes. It also directs the department to leverage dashboards, advanced analytics and emerging technologies such as Big Data and AI and ML, while ensuring robust data governance, cybersecurity safeguards, regulatory compliance and stronger inter-departmental coordination through standardisation and capacity building.