How AI is transforming public services in India: A case study

At InteligenAI, we recently partnered with a state-level government to introduce an AI-powered document validation system that processes scanned documents at scale—reducing costs, processing time, and human errors while serving 30,000+ citizens daily.

Understanding the Problem

A state government operates a high-volume citizen services portal that handles approximately 30,000 applications per day for critical services including:

• Birth certificates
• Caste certificates
• EWS (Economically Weaker Section) certificates
• Identity and address proof documents

Each citizen application requires multiple supporting documents—application forms, ID cards (Aadhaar, PAN), ration cards, utility bills for address proof, and more. Human agents manually validate each document before approving services, creating significant challenges.

Key Pain Points

1. Labor-intensive operations: Thousands of staff hours spent on repetitive document checks
2. Inconsistent accuracy: Human error rates of 3–8% across different document types
3. Scalability constraints: Unable to handle surge periods (exam seasons, scheme launches)
4. High recurring costs: Approximately ₹5–₹8 per page when factoring in salaries, infrastructure, and overhead
5. Slow turnaround times: Citizens waiting 3–7 days for simple certificate issuance
6. Limited audit trails: Difficulty tracking validation decisions and accountability

The government posed a critical question: Can we build an AI-based service that automates the validation pipeline, maintains high accuracy, and dramatically reduces cost per page?

Our Solution: Enterprise-Grade AI Document Validation API

InteligenAI designed and delivered a scalable AI document processing solution that handles government document validation at unprecedented scale.

1) High-Scale Processing Architecture

• Processes 1.8 million document pages per day (30,000 applications × average 60 pages)
• Achieves ≈ 1 second per page processing time including classification and extraction
• Handles peak loads of 50,000+ applications during surge periods
• 99.7% uptime with redundant infrastructure across multiple availability zones

2) Smart Document Classification Engine

Unlike traditional OCR-first approaches, we built a custom classification-first architecture:

• Computer vision–based classification that identifies document types without OCR
• Segregates pages by category: application forms, government IDs, address proofs, income documents, etc.
• Routes only relevant pages for detailed OCR and extraction, reducing compute costs by ~60%
• 97.5% classification accuracy across 45+ document types

3) Selective Field Extraction

• Template matching for structured government forms
• Key-value pair extraction for semi-structured documents
• Table detection and extraction for complex certificates
• Signature and seal verification using computer vision
• Cross-document validation to check consistency across multiple uploaded files

4) Zero LLM Dependency

• Lower latency: No API calls to external LLM services
• Cost efficiency: Eliminates expensive token-based pricing
• Explainability: Rule-based extraction provides clear audit trails
• Data privacy: All processing happens within government infrastructure
• Predictable performance: No model hallucinations or unexpected outputs

5) Modular & Extensible Architecture

• New document types can be added quickly
• Field extraction rules are configurable without code changes
• Regional language support for 10+ Indian languages
• Integration-ready with existing e-governance platforms

6) Enterprise Security & Compliance

• End-to-end encryption for document transmission
• Role-based access controls (RBAC)
• Complete audit logs for every validation decision
• Compliance with MEITY guidelines for government cloud
• Data residency within Indian data centers

Results & Measurable Impact

For Citizens:

• Faster service delivery
• Transparent tracking
• Reduced rejections
• 24/7 availability

For the State Government:

• Annual cost savings of ₹15+ crores on document processing operations
• Better audit compliance with complete digital trails for every decision
• Improved inter-department efficiency with standardized document validation
• Enhanced data analytics capabilities for policy planning