Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru

Bengaluru, Oct 21: The Karnataka government has made it mandatory for outsourced and contractual workers in government departments, boards and corporations to register their attendance through the ‘Kartavya’ app from December 1, 2026.

Until now, attendance through the app was restricted to permanent government employees.

In a circular issued to the heads of all government departments, the government has directed that all outsourced and contractual workers must register on the ‘Kartavya’ app by November 25.

According to the circular, attendance must be recorded exclusively through the app from December 1, 2026.

“From January 1, 2027, bills of agencies of contractual and outsourced workers will be only released based on the attendance details mentioned in the ‘Kartavya app’. The drawing and disbursing officers (DDOs) have been strictly instructed not to make any payments if attendance is not registered on ‘Kartavya’ app,” a note said.

In a separate order, the government has made it compulsory for doctors working in taluk hospitals and primary health centres under the health and family welfare department to mark their night attendance, after 9 pm, through the ‘Kartavya’ app every day. The measure will be introduced on a pilot basis from November 1.

All services to go online

Under a government order (GO) issued by the Praja Seva Department, services provided by various departments, including the issuance of licences and certificates, are to be brought online and brought under the ‘Sakaala’ framework.

RTI reforms to ensure accountability

In a move to strengthen transparency and accountability, the government has directed departments to upload details of queries received under the Right to Information (RTI) Act on the online portal within two days whenever applications are submitted in physical form.

The government has also ruled that citizens will be eligible for monetary compensation if their queries are not uploaded to the website within the stipulated time. The concerned officer will be held responsible for the failure.

To make the RTI process more accessible to people who are not familiar with digital services, the government has decided to allow citizens to submit applications through KarnatakaOne, BengaluruOne and GramaOne centres across the state.