Maharashtra citizens can now book bus tickets and get govt services on WhatsApp

Meta

The Maharashtra government is making it easier for people to access public services by launching a WhatsApp chatbot called Aaple Sarkar. Announced at Mumbai Tech Week 2025, this new service will let citizens use WhatsApp to file complaints, download documents, book bus tickets, and get important updates. The chatbot will work in Marathi, Hindi, and English and will support both text and voice commands.

The goal is to save people time by bringing government services to their phones, so they don’t have to visit offices or stand in long queues. Farmers and citizens across the state will also get real-time information through the chatbot.

In addition to WhatsApp services, Maharashtra is also testing artificial intelligence (AI) to make government work faster and more efficient. The government will use Meta’s AI model, Llama, to help officials access documents quickly and speed up decision-making.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that using AI and WhatsApp will make government services easier to use and more accessible. IT Minister Ashish Shelar added that this partnership is part of Maharashtra’s plan to become a more digitally connected state. "The Government of Maharashtra is committed to harnessing the power of open source Gen AI technology to improve and simplify the access to public services. In partnership with Meta, we are taking a significant step in not only making government services digitally accessible through WhatsApp, but also more efficient, bridging the gap between governance and the people," he said.

Meta’s Vice President for India, Sandhya Devanathan, said WhatsApp is already a popular tool for communication, and this chatbot will make it even more useful for citizens. "We are excited to collaborate with the Government of Maharashtra to enhance process efficiencies using Llama and to launch the digital services chatbot, which brings the power of technology to the fingertips of the people of Maharashtra. The ease and simplicity of WhatsApp make it a preferred choice for people to get things done. We are confident that through this chatbot, we will redefine the way people connect with government services, making them more convenient and accessible," she said.

With this move, Maharashtra is making government services simpler and more convenient, helping people get what they need with just a message.