The Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights will launch a WhatsApp chatbot to interact with people and help them register their complaints.

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia will launch the chatbot on February 1.

An official said, “The chatbot will help citizens and the commission to interact in a more effective manner. Some of its cases include complaint registration, searching information and tracking complaint status.

“It will be used by the commission for nudge-based awareness communications to children, women and Anganwadi workers, etc.” The Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights is the apex statutory authority of Delhi government to protect, promote and monitor the implementation of rights and policies related to children such as education, immunisation, protection against abuse and nutrition.

WhatsApp has been utilised in past to offer services to the public in India. In October, Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited launched a WhatsApp chatbot-based QR ticketing service for Metro services. The chatbot is integrated with Unified Payments Interface (UPI) powered payments on WhatsApp and allows ‘Namma Metro’ commuters to purchase tickets and recharge their travel pass right within WhatsApp. BMRCL had claimed it is the first transit service globally to enable end-to-end QR ticketing on WhatsApp.

In August, Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation‘s (IRCTC) food delivery service launched a service that allowed passengers to order food via a WhatsApp chatbot without downloading any additional app and get it delivered to their seats while travelling. Passengers can enter their PNR number to place the order and the service offers real-time tracking.

© Thomson Reuters 2023