Pinarayi to roll out K-SMART that brings local services to people's fingertips

Kochi: The Kerala government is set to launch a groundbreaking initiative called K-SMART on January 1, 2024.

This ambitious project aims to provide digital access to services offered by local self-government bodies through a unified platform across the state, an official statement said in the State capital on Thursday.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will inaugurate the project at a ceremony in Kaloor, Kochi, at 10.30 am on January 1. The rollout will cover all municipal corporations and municipalities in Kerala.

K-SMART, short for Kerala Solutions for Managing Administrative Reformation and Transformation, brings local services to people's fingertips.

This means residents can now avail services from various local bodies without physically visiting offices, thanks to the user-friendly K-SMART application developed by the Information Kerala Mission (IKM) for the Local Self-Government Department.

The K-SMART app simplifies the process by allowing online submission of applications and complaints.

Moreover, it provides digital updates on the status of these submissions.

An Integrated Messaging System ensures that applicants and complainants receive receipts through their respective logins, as well as via WhatsApp and email.

Addressing a press conference in Thiruvananthapuram Minister for Local Self-Government M B Rajesh said K-SMART will make local government services in Kerala super easy with its 35 different modules.

These cover things like birth, death, and marriage registrations, business licenses, property taxes, and more.

Now, citizens can access all these services through one simple platform by logging into the web portal and providing the necessary info.

In the first phase, K-SMART is kicking off in corporations and municipalities across the state.

Then, it will be rolled out in grama panchayats in the next phase.

Eight services will be available initially, including registration of births, deaths, and marriages, business licenses, property taxes, and more, Rajesh said.