IIT Kanpur: The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur has established the potential of an AI-powered system to help governments identify households requiring welfare support using data already available in government systems, the institute said on Tuesday.
The system was developed under a collaboration between IIT Kanpur and the Andhra Pradesh government, with the first phase examining whether AI could provide a reliable alternative to conventional household surveys for assessing socio-economic conditions.
The Family Score system assesses the socio-economic conditions of households without requiring additional surveys, potentially offering a faster and more cost-effective way to identify beneficiaries at scale, the institute said.
The findings showed that an ensemble of AI models developed by the college can outperform conventional surveys in determining the socio-economic conditions of households, while requiring relatively little additional cost and effort from the government, according to the institute.
The findings were presented to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and senior government officials by an IIT-K team comprising Director Manindra Agrawal, Dean of the Wadhwani School of AI & Intelligent Systems Nitin Saxena and Manish Srivastava, CEO of Airawat Research Foundation, in a meeting on Tuesday.
According to official information, the meeting included discussions on developing a roadmap to improve the living standards of low-income families through technology-enabled and data-driven interventions.
In a social media post on X, IIT Kanpur said:
"This engagement builds on the collaborative work being undertaken by the Wadhwani Center for Developing Intelligent Systems, IIT Kanpur (WCDIS), and Airawat Research Foundation towards applying AI and intelligent systems to real-world societal challenges."
"At WSAIS, we are committed to translating cutting-edge research into scalable, responsible, and impactful solutions that can contribute to better governance and improved quality of life," it added.
Advancing AI-Enabled Solutions for Inclusive and Data-Driven Governance
— Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (@IITKanpur) September 8, 2026
Prof. @agrawalmanindra, @Director_IITK; Prof. Nitin Saxena, Dean, Wadhwani School of AI & Intelligent Systems - IIT Kanpur; and Mr. Manish Srivastava, Chief Executive Officer, @AirawatRF, participated in a… pic.twitter.com/Rmlk8ChZ9o
The members discussed building a comprehensive citizen database to enable better understanding of family-level needs and requirements. The members deliberated on leveraging technology and AI to identify the means, needs, and eligibility of families, enabling more targeted and effective delivery of welfare support.
The members also talked about strengthening the use of data-driven decision-making to make welfare schemes more transparent, efficient, and outcome-oriented.
The discussions also explored the scope for technology-driven solutions that can help the government better identify beneficiaries, understand their requirements, and connect families with appropriate welfare schemes.
As per reports, Naidu appreciated the capabilities demonstrated by the system and its potential to help identify and reach the right families with targeted welfare support, the institute said.
