CHENNAI: In a first-of-its-kind initiative, the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) will test the option to send birth certificates in PDF format directly to parents’ registered mobile numbers through WhatsApp from Tuesday.
Parents will also have the option of downloading the certificates through the GCC’s WhatsApp chatbot or from the civic body’s website. The initiative will be extended to death certificates and other civic services in the coming months.
Currently, hospital officials record a child’s birth and upload the document to the e-server after obtaining the required signatures, and parents have to download it from the corporation website. In 2025, the GCC introduced a feature to download it using its chatbot.
“The pilot project is a first-ofits-kind initiative in which the system will automatically push the birth certificate in PDF format to the parents’ registered mobile numbers via WhatsApp.
Alternatively, they can download it by responding to a prompt message from the GCC WhatsApp chatbot,” GCC
Commissioner J Kumaragurubaran told
The civic body would extend the “auto push” model to death certificates and other services based on the success of the initiative, he added.
In August 2025, Mayor R Priya launched the GCC’s WhatsApp chatbot to streamline civic services and grievance redressal. The platform currently offers access to 32 services, including downloading birth and death certificates, paying property and commercial taxes, and lodging complaints. Residents can access the chatbot by messaging 9445061913. The service is also available in Tamil to ensure wider accessibility.
Welcoming the move, Sandhya Vedullapalli, secretary, Federation of Anna Nagar Residents’ Associations, said automation could improve service delivery and cautioned against excessive manual intervention.
“We welcome the initiative, but if human approval is required, I am sceptical. Automation succeeds, but human intervention opens loopholes for bribery and corruption,” she said.