Digital University Kerala bags national e-Governance award for AI-based ‘Lucky Bill’ app

Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 25 (PTI) The Digital University Kerala (DUK) on Friday won the ‘National Award for e-Governance’ for the AI-based ‘Lucky Bill’ app it developed for the State GST Department that ensures tax compliance apart from promoting transparency in financial transactions.

DUK Vice Chancellor, Saji Gopinath, faculty members of the research team and the representative from State GST Department, jointly received the award today at the 26th National Conference on e-Governance being held at Indore.

DUK won the Silver Award in the category ‘Research on Citizen Centric Services by Academic/ Research Institutions’. The award includes a citation and a cash prize of Rs five lakh.

“Digital University is excited to receive the National E-Governance Award today for the AI-based Solution Lucky Bill app for enhancing the transparency in the GST process. We are very happy to note that this pioneering concept is now being adopted all across the nation,” Gopinath said in a release.

He said the fact that the Digital University could get a prestigious award within two years of its inception is a testimony of the commitment of the institution to lead the digital transformation in the State through applied research and responsible use of technology.

The award is given to recognise and promote excellence in the implementation of e-Governance initiatives in the country.

DUK said the Central GST Department has adopted the Lucky Bill model – ‘Mera Bill-Mera Adhikar Yojana’ – for implementation across India.

The Lucky Bill app is a novel initiative introduced with the aim of promoting the ‘Ask for Bills’ culture among consumers. It serves as an official platform for individuals in Kerala to conveniently upload their GST bills and actively participate in the State Goods and Services Tax Department’s efforts to ensure tax compliance, DUK said in the release.

It said, till date, over 17 lakh bills were uploaded to the system with over 1.25 lakh users registered and as many as over 11,000 rewards distributed to the Lucky Bill Draw winners.

“Several violations were detected with the help of the Lucky Bill system. After the introduction of the Lucky Bill app, Kerala recorded a 26 per cent increase in June 2023 revenue over that of June 2022,” it said.