Gandhinagar: In a major push toward paperless governance, Finance Minister Kanubhai Desai on Wednesday announced the creation of a Gujarat Unified Digital Stack, a single integrated digital platform through which citizens will be able to access multiple government services without repeatedly submitting the same documents.

The initiative, announced in the Gujarat Budget 2026-27, carries a proposed allocation of ₹100 crore and is aimed at simplifying interactions between citizens and government departments.

One platform for all services

At present, residents often need to upload identical identity, address and eligibility documents separately for schemes such as income certificates, caste certificates, licences, benefits and welfare programmes across different portals. Because databases of departments operate independently, verification is repeated each time.

Under the proposed system, once a citizen’s records are verified and stored securely, the data will be reused across departments — eliminating repeated paperwork and physical visits to offices.

The government said the platform will:

Provide multiple services from a single login

Reduce the need to resubmit documents

Enable faster approvals through digital verification

Cut administrative processing time and cost

Faster delivery of schemes

Officials indicated that the stack will function as a shared digital infrastructure linking departments, local bodies and state agencies. By integrating databases, benefits under welfare schemes are expected to be delivered quicker, while errors and duplication may reduce.

The move is also expected to benefit rural applicants and small businesses that currently face delays due to documentation requirements and verification cycles. DeshGujarat