Bengaluru, 15 June

In a move aimed at enhancing transparency, accountability and efficiency in public administration, the Karnataka government has introduced an AI-powered, geofencing-based attendance management system called Kartavya, officials said on Monday.

The initiative follows Chief Minister DK Shivakumar's first meeting with departmental secretaries, during which he directed government employees and officials to maintain 100 per cent attendance during office hours and respond promptly to public grievances.

According to a statement, under the earlier biometric attendance system, employees could mark attendance digitally and then leave the office premises.

To address this loophole, the new system has been designed to accurately track employees' physical presence and geographical location within their workplace.

The Kartavya (Karnataka Advanced Attendance Management System–KAAMS) software has been designed and developed entirely within the government's own ecosystem, without assistance from any external private technology company.

Developed under the supervision of the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (e-Governance), the system was jointly created by the Centre for e-Governance (CeG) and the Karnataka AI Cell, the statement said.

It added that this has helped save several crore rupees in vendor costs while improving data security and technological autonomy.

In the statement, Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh said that Kartavya is more than an attendance application; it is a symbol of Karnataka's commitment to innovation-driven governance.

"As Karnataka continues to embrace emerging technologies to improve governance, Kartavya stands as a shining example of how artificial intelligence and digital innovation can be harnessed to strengthen institutions, empower employees, and ultimately deliver better services to citizens," Rajneesh said.

According to her, through initiatives such as Kartavya, Karnataka is not merely digitising government processes but redefining the future of governance.

Officials said Karnataka's model could serve as a template for adoption by other states.

Kartavya incorporates several technology-driven features, including AI-based facial recognition, geofencing, an integrated employee database, a mobile application and leave management tools.

Android and iOS applications enable employees to mark attendance, apply for leave and register official out-of-office duty details, it added.

Following the CM's strict directives, officials said the system is being implemented rapidly across government departments.

According to the statement, the number of registered employees rose from about 2.46 lakh last week to 3,01,034 this week, an increase of more than 25 per cent, with over 55,000 new registrations recorded within a week.

Average daily attendance logged through the application also increased from 1,85,308 to 2,32,612 during the same period, reflecting a similar rise in active usage.

At present, 4,78,522 employees across 42 government departments have been brought under the system, of whom more than 3.01 lakh have already registered.

Officials said employees have welcomed the mobile-based attendance system as it eliminates the need to queue at biometric attendance machines.

Following successful pilot implementation in the Health and Family Welfare and School Education departments, the system is now being actively used by school education staff.

The dashboard is being monitored daily by the CM, chief secretary, secretaries at the state level and DCs/CEOs at the district level to make it effective, officials added.