Revanth Reddy plans unified welfare card for every citizen

Metro India News | Hyderabad 

The Telangana government is set to introduce a “Comprehensive Welfare Card” or Unified Card for every citizen to integrate all welfare scheme benefits under a single platform. Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy directed officials to immediately initiate the process and conduct a special drive to collect beneficiary data from all government departments.

During a high level review meeting attended by Minister Duddilla Sridhar Babu, Chief Secretary Ramakrishna Rao, CM Special Secretary B. Ajith Reddy and senior IT department officials, the Chief Minister stated that the card should clearly indicate the welfare schemes availed by each citizen, the department providing the benefit and the extent of assistance received.

The Chief Minister said the Unified Welfare Card would create a complete welfare profile of every citizen and improve transparency in implementation through AI based data analysis. He noted that the system would help ensure that benefits reach genuine beneficiaries while making it easier to identify ineligible recipients.

Revanth Reddy instructed that instead of separate cards issued by different departments, the IT Department should develop a single integrated welfare card. He also suggested engaging technologically skilled young government officers in the implementation process.

The card is proposed to include details related to Aarogyasri, Chief Minister’s Relief Fund assistance, fee reimbursement, labour welfare schemes, education benefits, insurance schemes and other government welfare programmes. The Chief Minister also suggested exploring the possibility of assigning a unique state level identity number similar to Aadhaar.

The government plans to link the card with the recently conducted socio economic, educational, employment and caste survey. The Chief Minister also stressed the need for AI based profiling and integration of health records and pension databases to improve service delivery and monitoring.