‘ManaMitra’ Inspired by People’s Aspirations: Nara Lokesh

Andhra Pradesh Education, IT and Electronics Minister Nara Lokesh said the aspirations of the people inspired the launch of the “ManaMitra” WhatsApp-based citizen services platform. He attended the WhatsApp Citizen Engagement and Innovation Forum organised by Meta, where Sandhya Devanathan moderated a fireside chat.

Speaking at the event, Lokesh said the platform was created to deliver government services faster and more conveniently to citizens.

Idea from Yuvagalam padayatra

Lokesh said the concept emerged during his Yuvagalam padayatra , when people raised concerns about the difficulty in accessing government services . While groceries, taxis and other services are available instantly through mobile apps, citizens said government services still involve complex procedures .

Inspired by these interactions, the government decided to bring all citizen services onto a single platform through one phone number using WhatsApp .

Partnership with Meta

After the coalition government came to power, the state partnered with Meta to implement the initiative. Though the project was initially planned for 60 days , it took about 90 days to launch.

The ManaMitra platform, which started with nearly 160 services , now provides about 900 citizen services across various departments.

Role of Real-Time Governance

Lokesh said the state’s Real-Time Governance system played a key role in integrating services. Initially, departments were hesitant to open their APIs , but coordination under the guidance of Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu helped bring all services onto one platform.

Benefits for citizens

Through ManaMitra, students can now access hall tickets via WhatsApp , while citizens are widely using services such as electricity bill payments, utility services and exam results . A feedback system has also been introduced to assess service quality.

Citizens are currently rating the services between 8.5 and 9 out of 10 , though the government aims to improve further. The Chief Minister reviews the system weekly to address issues and enhance service delivery.

Future plans

The government plans to introduce AI-based services through a Data Lake project , which will integrate citizen data and enable automatic delivery of related services . The platform is also gaining popularity in rural areas , helping farmers access information on eligible government schemes.

Lokesh said states planning similar initiatives should focus on building a strong data lake system and ensuring strong political commitment for successful implementation.