Delhi government data to be AI-ready for effective governance service delivery to people

The Delhi government has signed a MoU with EkStep Foundation, to make its administrative data AI-ready for improved governance and service delivery.

Chief minister Rekha Gupta on Tuesday chaired a workshop of Delhi government officers, saying data systems must be interconnected to ensure that benefits of AI reach the ordinary people.

The initiative will make Delhi government data more organised, reliable and ready for use, according to a Delhi CMO statement.


The workshop attended by Delhi government secretaries, heads of departments and senior officials, focused on using data more effectively to strengthen evidence-based decision-making, enable the government to provide services proactively based on people's needs, and improve public services.

Chief minister Gupta said the benefits of AI should reach those who need them the most. "Data is the fuel for AI, and it is essential to make data useful for empowering citizens," she said.

EkStep Foundation will work as a knowledge partner to the Delhi government and share its open frameworks and expertise under the MoU signed with Planning department.

Under the agreement, the two sides will work together to make government data ready for AI use and develop various use cases aimed at improving citizen services with the help of AI.

A presentation on 'Data DHARA for an AI-Ready Delhi', was made during the workshop. The 'Data DHARA' toolkit and vision paper were also launched.

Data Harnessed for AI-Ready Advancements (DHARA) is an open-source methodology based on digital public infrastructure. It is aimed at helping government departments and institutions prepare their data for AI use.

During the technical session on 'Data Creating Impact', several examples were shared of how data can be used to improve public services and help people access government schemes.

These included improving the delivery of Matru Vandana and Delhi Lakhpati Bitiya schemes, identifying eligible beneficiaries and connecting them with schemes, reducing gaps in enrolment, and helping construction workers access various government schemes.

The chief minister said various departments have large amounts of administrative data relating to citizens, beneficiaries, workers, students, health, education, employment and government schemes. The need now is to move from merely collecting data to using it, from maintaining records to generating insights, and from reactive to proactive governance.