K-SMART set to upgrade service delivery in Kerala gram panchayats soon

Kerala Solutions for Managing Administrative Reformation and Transformation or K-SMART, a pioneering digital platform for service delivery deployed in corporations and municipalities in the state, will be rolled out across 941 villages next month.

Corporations and municipalities house 65 per cent of the state’s population and were preferred in the rollout of the platform, says KP Noufal, Deputy Director, Information Kerala Mission (IKM), who also heads K-SMART, an upgrade to the existing Integrated Local Governance Management System.

Combines 35 modules

K-SMART integrates 35 modules categorised by service type and procedure. As of now, a total of 30,45,908 files have been submitted, with 75.6 per cent approved. Of remaining, 3.6 per cent were rejected and 3.3 per cent returned, citing reasons.

Of 9,68,587 property tax files submitted, 8,52,497 have been approved, reflecting an approval rate of 88.0 per cent. Additionally, 8,80,154 civil registration files have been submitted and 770,844 approved, representing an approval rate of 87.6 per cent.

Citizen footfalls in offices have trended lower after K-SMART was introduced in corporations and municipalities. Office employees now have more time at disposal to do work, and applicants are receiving required certificates quickly and on time.

Smart service delivery

Santhosh Babu, Principal Secretary and Chairman and Managing Director, IKM, said, with trillions of unused data points at disposal, there is no need to repeatedly ask citizens for same information. “We must move from a file-centric and data-centric system to a truly human-centric one, where services are proactive and accessible,” he told businessline.

Santhosh Babu, Chairman and Managing Director, Information Kerala Mission

“K-SMART streamlines processes and reduces paperwork to ensure efficient service delivery. This shouldn’t stop at Department of Local Self-Government. If rest come together, entire state’s administration can be unified into a single, seamless system.”

Strong digital foundation

Kerala already has strong digital foundation making it possible to transition from e-governance to spatial (s-governance), algorithmic (a-governance), and predictive (p-governance). “With full cooperation across departments, we can achieve this in just a year – delivering governance that truly values people’s time and simplifies their lives,” Babu said.

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According to Noufal, local self-governments are primary points of contact for citizens seeking various services from certificates to building permits. K-SMART platform addresses these challenges by integrating diverse range of local government services.

AI play, for first time

By making available vital public services accessible to everyone based in the state or abroad, K-SMART could become a national model for digital governance. For the first time, AI is being harnessed for issuing building permits, he claimed.

K-SMART features integrated e-DCR (Electronic Development Control Rules) Rule Engine and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Rule Engine in Building Permit Module and in standalone ‘Know Your Land’ app. They help improve building permit processing, allowing citizens to verify zoning details, building heights, and setbacks digitally.

Civil certificates

A data-driven approach not only speeds up decision-making but also ensures greater transparency. “Self-certified building permits are generated in less than 10 seconds for properties less than 3,200 sq ft. This is about 70 per cent of all building permits applied for. The job used to take days and months together to complete,” Noufal said.

Marriage, birth, and death certificates are processed in under five minutes. Nearly 75 per cent of applications are approved within a day. Marriage certificates are issued in a matter of minutes for couples geographically separated, thanks to the Video KYC facility in Marriage Registration Module. More than 17,000 such marriage certificates have been issued since January 1.