The month-old Congress government in Telangana has decided to use artificial intelligence-based tools to scrutinise the 1.2 crore applications received for some of its six guarantees, or welfare schemes.

These advanced software tools will weed out duplication, a problem faced in neighbouring Karnataka whose Congress government has rolled out five guarantees. Field verification will then identify the most deserving applicants, who will receive the benefits first.

The six guarantees represent 13 welfare schemes, with most of the guarantees being tied to multiple schemes, implying a huge amount of data entry work to finalise the beneficiaries.

Chief minister A. Revanth Reddy, who assumed charge on December 7, had promised to launch all the six guarantees within 100 days, that is, before the general election.

On December 7 itself, he rolled out two schemes — free rides for women on government buses and the doubling of the government’s existing healthcare cover to Rs 10 lakh — that did not require applications.

The applications received are being scrutinised before the remaining schemes are launched.

A government source said that more than 1.2 crore applications had been received during a collection drive, held at villages and towns across the state, from December 28 to January 6.

"The response was very encouraging since it reflected the people’s faith in the government," state Congress spokesperson Sama Rama Mohan Reddy told The Telegraph on Saturday.

The Congress rode these six guarantees to power in Telangana last month. Among them are a monthly allowance of Rs 2,500 for women, LPG cylinders at Rs 500, free travel for women in all state transport buses, financial assistance to farmers, 200 units of free electricity, land for the homeless to build houses, a Rs 5 lakh educational assistance, a monthly pension of Rs 6,000 for senior citizens, widows and single women among others, and the doubled healthcare benefits.

A cabinet sub-committee on "Praja Palana (People’s Rule)" met under the chairmanship of deputy chief minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka on Friday to work out the modalities of the upcoming scrutiny.

It decided to draft in the Hyderabad-based Centre for Good Governance — a state government institution — and the state infotech department for scrutiny of the applications.

A Congress functionary, who declined to be named, admitted that the scrutiny would be an arduous task.

"The government is likely to form Indiramma Committees at the village level to identify the most deserving beneficiaries," he said, citing the successful model in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh.

The Grama Sachivalayams (village secretariats) envisaged and implemented by Andhra chief minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has one volunteer for every 50 houses in the villages and one for every 100 houses in urban areas.

The volunteers are paid a monthly honorarium of Rs 5,000. Their responsibilities include the ground-level verification of applicants, doorstep delivery of welfare and pensions, and public awareness of government schemes.