Govt. to employ tech professionals at prevailing market wages to adapt to technological advances

While rapid changes have been introduced to the registration process in Karnataka for the convenience of the public, the Karnataka government will now hire highly qualified technology professionals, including those with knowledge of artificial intelligence and machine learning, at market-rate wages to adapt to technological advancements.

The move comes at a time when the department is looking to move beyond the scanned document-based system to a GIS-based digital system and from web-based applications to mobile applications and IoT devices.

The implementation of proposed digital e-stamp and GIS-based valuation for fixing the guidance value to prevent leakage among other services is expected to be accelerated.

Kaveri Technical Cell

As many as 39 highly skilled tech workers will be hired at current market wages through a manpower agency for the new in-house Kaveri Technical Cell, which was officially notified on Monday after receiving Cabinet approval last week.

The cell, which will pilot future additions to the Kaveri console with its own manpower and even redevelop the Kaveri software as per requirements, was announced in the Budget 2025-2026 and has an allocation of ₹69.13 crore for a period of five years.

As the software is expected to constantly adapt to regulatory changes, new integrations and operational changes, efforts will be made to continuously develop, maintain and improve Kaveri 2.0.

According to sources, the changes are coming due to the issuance of new rules like the Karnataka Stamp Act, 1957, amendments to the Registration Act, 1908 and the Karnataka Registration Rules, 1965, and the Karnataka Digital e-Stamp Rules, 2025.

“Every change in law or procedure requires corresponding changes in software.”

“Currently, the e-Governance Center is providing software updates and integration support. It is also under the workload of other departments. There were problems, including the quality of work, as expectations and implementation were different,” said an official from the Revenue Department. “This initiative will cost half the cost of hiring a technology company for the same job. Cell will provide speed, flexibility, cost efficiency and greater control over priorities.”

System upgrades

The manpower will be recruited through a manpower agency and will carry out system upgrades, integrations, bug fixes and performance monitoring under the supervision of department officials. Study performance will be evaluated by an expert committee.

Sources said it is also difficult to retain existing software developers as wages in the industry are very high and it is understood that a fixed salary for a particular job does not work.