How WhatsApp, Llama AI will improve e-governance in India
What's the story
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, is in talks with a number of state governments in India to improve e-governance.
The company plans to use its open-source artificial intelligence (AI) model, Llama, and widely-used messaging app WhatsApp for the same.
Sandhya Devanathan, Meta's India head, disclosed the plan in a recent interview with Moneycontrol.
Initiative
A look at WhatsApp-based citizen service models
Since the beginning of this year, Meta has been collaborating with Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Odisha to deploy WhatsApp-based citizen service delivery models.
These would give citizens a quick way to access government services and schemes.
Notably, the AP government has already introduced a chatbot called Mana Mitra in January, providing over 160 citizen-centric services like electricity bill payments and temple seva bookings.
Service expansion
Mana Mitra expands services
Notably, the Mana Mitra chatbot has already expanded its offerings to 200 services by March.
Devanathan said that traditionally, citizen services are scattered across several websites or have separate phone numbers on WhatsApp.
However, in AP, all citizen services are launched on a single phone number, simplifying access for citizens.
She praised the state government for its forward-thinking approach and collaboration across multiple departments.
Plans
Future plans for WhatsApp-based citizen service delivery
Meta hopes to repeat the AP model with Maharashtra and Odisha, as both states are also set to introduce their own WhatsApp chatbots in the coming months.
While Maharashtra plans to offer over 500 services on a single number, Odisha wants to integrate 429 government services.
Devanathan stressed these efforts are still in the early stages, with scope for future upgrades like AI, voice-enabled services.
AI integration
Llama to be integrated into state services
Along with WhatsApp-based services, AP and Maharashtra governments have also signed agreements with Meta to leverage the Llama AI model for different backend services.
These include document retrieval, which is aimed at boosting productivity and efficiency for government employees.
Devanathan highlighted that the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship had brought SIA (Skill India Assistant), a chatbot built entirely on Llama in January this year.
Localization
Focus on making Llama AI more relevant to India
Devanathan said that Meta is looking to make Llama "more relevant" to India, which has rapidly emerged as one of the leading markets for Llama models' adoption among developers.
This would require adding more support for Indian languages in future Llama models and ensuring the datasets reflect India's diversity.
The Llama 3.1 model released in July 2024, added support for Hindi language.