As governments worldwide adopt Artificial Intelligence (AI) to modernise public service delivery, the central challenge is scale: delivering services to millions efficiently while safeguarding integrity, transparency, and inclusion. In India, this challenge is particularly evident in high- volume citizen services such as licensing, certification, and examinations, which span diverse geographies and have traditionally depended on manual verification and physical presence.
The deployment of iDetect, an AI-enabled identity authentication and examination integrity platform, illustrates how AI can be embedded within digital public infrastructure to address these complexities. Designed not merely as a digitisation initiative but as a governance reform instrument, iDetect seeks to enhance citizen convenience, strengthen institutional capacity, and reinforce trust in public processes.
AI Priorities in Governance Systems
The adoption of iDetect was guided by four interlinked governance priorities. First, reducing transaction costs by minimising physical touchpoints and enabling remote access. Second, strengthening process integrity through automated identity authentication and monitoring. Third, ensuring scalability through standardised processes capable of handling large volumes while delivering uniform outcomes. Fourth, building resilience and security in recognition of evolving risks in digital public services. These priorities shaped the platform’s architecture and phased rollout, ensuring that technology remained aligned with service delivery goals.
Design and Deployment of iDetect
At its core, iDetect enables secure, fully visit-less learner’s licence (LL) examinations. The platform integrates Face Authentication (FA), AI-based liveliness detection, continuous proctoring and SmartLock, a controlled examination environment that restricts unauthorised access and client-side manipulation. This was conceptualized by the Transport Department and NIC, Odisha, and incorporated the iDetect tool in the existing LL module of the SARATHI software. This has now been adopted by many other States.
Deployment has followed a calibrated model. FA-enabled services are operational in 22 States and Union Territories, providing robust identity verification at examination entry. In 8 States, a full-stack configuration combining FA, AI proctoring, and SmartLock delivers enhanced integrity where higher risk profiles warrant stronger controls.
Between 1st October 2024 and 30th September 2025, iDetect recorded 61,17,502 face authentication attempts, with 60,63,407 successful verifications, demonstrating high reliability at a population scale. During the same period, 31,10,840 LL examinations were conducted using iDetect-enabled services, reflecting broad adoption.
Citizen-Level Outcomes
For citizens, the most visible impact has been reduced physical visits to Regional Transport Offices (RTOs). Applicants can complete examinations remotely, lowering travel costs, waiting times, and reliance on intermediaries. These gains are especially significant for rural and semi-urban populations, where access to RTOs often involves considerable time and expense.
The platform’s guided interface supports first-time users and individuals with limited digital familiarity, helping expand accessibility rather than deepen digital divides. At scale, these improvements translate into greater service reach and smoother citizen–state interaction.
Administrative and Institutional Impact
Administratively, iDetect reduces dependence on manual verification and on-site supervision. Examination processes have shifted to a centralised, standardised, and auditable model supported by AI-based authentication and monitoring.
Centralised reporting, evidence capture, and analytics strengthen oversight and ensure consistency across jurisdictions. Automation enables more efficient allocation of human resources, allowing officials to focus on supervision, compliance, and grievance redressal instead of routine verification. Collectively, these shifts reflect progress toward data-driven governance and process-embedded accountability.
Environmental Impact (Green Tech Perspective)
iDetect has enabled significant environmental benefits by replacing physical, paper-based and travel- intensive Learner’s License processes with a fully digital, visit-less model.
Earlier, each applicant carried multiple physical documents averaging 5–6 printed pages. With over 31 lakh LL examinations conducted digitally, the system enabled large- scale paper savings, contributing to the conservation of approximately 2,500–3,000 trees.
By eliminating mandatory travel to RTO offices (typically 7–8 km on average), iDetect reduced an estimated 2 crore kilometres of citizen travel annually, lowering fuel consumption and vehicular carbon emissions.
The removal of physical exam centres and adoption of client-side AI processing further reduced infrastructure load and energy consumption, supporting paperless, low-carbon, and sustainable digital governance.
Broader Implications
The iDetect experience offers broader lessons for AI adoption in governance. Efficiency and integrity need not be trade-offs; when aligned with clear objectives and robust system design, they can reinforce each other. Transparent acknowledgement of risks and limitations enhances institutional credibility and public trust.
Economically, reduced indirect citizen costs, improved administrative productivity, and enhanced scalability cumulatively strengthen state capacity and service delivery outcomes.
Also Read | From Digital Infrastructure to Intelligent Administration: Karnataka’s AI Blueprint
Conclusion
iDetect demonstrates how AI, when embedded within institutional processes and supported by continuous oversight, can significantly improve public service delivery at scale. The experience highlights the importance of adaptive governance frameworks to ensure AI systems remain secure, inclusive, and trustworthy as they evolve.
The solution is designed to be replicable across other online examinations and digital services requiring secure face authentication and liveliness verification, offering a practical model for responsible AI adoption in public administration.
The views expressed are personal and shared by: Shri Amitabh Thakur, IPS, Transport Commissioner, Odisha.
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