Indore Ramps Up Digital Governance with AI Hackathon and 4 Lakh Duplicate IDs Purged in Bold Bureaucratic Clean Up
Indore is setting a new precedent in bureaucratic transformation as the district administration moves to overhaul government functioning through a strategic infusion of Information Technology and Artificial Intelligence. In a sweeping announcement during the Time Limit (TL) Letters disposal and Inter-Departmental Coordination Committee meeting held at the Collectorate, District Collector Asheesh Singh outlined a high-stakes hackathon to be conducted under the city’s Smart City Project — a platform that will invite experts, technical students, and innovators from across the IT and AI sectors to design real-time, tech-enabled solutions to the city’s administrative challenges.
For a city already known for its clean city accolades, this marks the next phase in civic evolution — digitising governance itself. The hackathon, Singh explained, will seek workable, scalable ideas that can help prevent illegal construction, track issues in real-time, enhance cyber fraud monitoring, and strengthen citizen grievance mechanisms like Jansunwai. It isn’t just a token gesture toward innovation; it is a deliberate, high-level strategy to rewire local governance from the inside out. Singh noted that much of Indore’s current administrative operations — from welfare scheme implementation to civic oversight — now function through digital platforms. In such an environment, he stressed, continuous technical innovation is no longer optional but essential.
The meeting, attended by IMC Commissioner Shivam Verma, Smart City CEO Divyank Singh, District Panchayat CEO Siddharth Jain, and senior officials from various departments, reflected a unified push toward smarter governance. This move is also being aligned with citizen safety and efficiency efforts. The Collector has directed the Regional Transport Officer to launch a crackdown on unauthorized school vehicles, while urging parents to ensure their children commute via only licensed and approved transport providers. Simultaneously, Indore’s ongoing campaign to create a beggar-free city will be intensified, with field officers instructed to act swiftly and decisively.
In a major development on the digital hygiene front, Singh revealed that over 4 lakh duplicate entries have already been removed from the Samagra ID system — the database that underpins social welfare delivery in Madhya Pradesh. Officials are now accelerating efforts to complete e-KYC linking of Samagra IDs with Aadhaar, aiming to eliminate duplication and prevent benefit leakage. Singh has instructed that any fake or incorrect Samagra IDs must be purged immediately and citizens should be encouraged to update their e-KYCs without delay.
The hackathon, however, is the clear centrepiece of this transformation push. It’s not just a contest — it’s a public-private governance accelerator, aimed at creating sustainable tech solutions that can plug directly into Indore’s administration. For a city that’s already a national leader in sanitation and civic innovation, this marks a powerful step into deeper digital transformation. By blending local innovation with strategic policy focus, Indore is not just experimenting — it’s laying the groundwork for a future-ready, tech-driven model of governance that other Indian cities may soon follow.
