9 cr people download Aarogya Setu app

NEW DELHI :

CLOSE to nine crore users have downloaded the Aarogya Setu mobile application and it has been made mandatory that Government and private sector employees use it to bolster efforts to fight COVID-19 pandemic. The Group of Ministers (GoM) on COVID-19 was informed about this on Tuesday by officials during its 14th meeting in which it also discussed various aspects pertaining to the “performance, impact and benefits” of the Aarogya Setu application.

The Government on Wednesday said that no data or security breach has been identified in Aarogya Setu after an ethical hacker raised concerns about a potential security issue in the application and it was criticised by Opposition Congress leaders. The mobile application helps users identify whether they are at risk of COVID-19. It also provides people with important information, including ways to avoid coronavirus and its symptoms. The GoM was informed that “people have informed about their health status on the application which has helped in tracing those suffering with any symptoms for COVID-19 containment”, the health Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday. The Union Home Ministry on Friday also said that the mobile app will be must for people living in COVID-19 containment zones. “Use of Aarogya Setu app shall be made mandatory for all employees, both private and public.

It shall be the responsibility of the head of the respective organisations to ensure 100 per cent coverage of this app among the employees,” the Ministry had said. On Tuesday, a French hacker and cyber security expert Elliot Alderson had claimed that “a security issue has been found” in the Aarogya Setu app and that “privacy of 90 million Indians is at stake”. Dismissing the claims, the Government said “no personal information of any user has been proven to be at risk by this ethical hacker”. The application is available on both Google Play (for Android users) and iOS app store (for iPhone). It is also available in 10 Indian languages and English.

It’s robust app in terms of privacy, security: Prasad

NEW DELHI,

May 6 (PTI)

REJECTING charges by the Opposition that the Aarogya Setu application breaches privacy, Union IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has asserted that the platform is “absolutely robust, safe and secure” in terms of privacy protection and data security. “This is a technological invention of India -- Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, our scientists, NIC, Niti Aayog and some private (entities) -- whereby it is a perfectly accountable platform to help in the fight against COVID-19,” Prasad told PTI. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has alleged that the Aarogya Setu app is a “sophisticated surveillance system, outsourced to a private operator, with no institutional oversight”. He also said that it raises serious data security and privacy concerns.

“Technology can help keep us safe; but fear must not be leveraged to track citizens without their consent,” Gandhi had said. Countering the claim, Prasad said, “It is safe and secure. The data is in an encrypted form. Most important, it is for safety of Indians in public interest because it cautions you in the event there is a COVID-infected person in your vicinity.” The minister said the mobile application also helps tracing contacts in the event a person is infected. “It is a very robust invention of technology and many other countries are using similar applications to fight COVID-19. And the second most important point is that the data is limited. Routine data remains for 30 days and in the event you are infected, then (for) 45 to 60 days. Then automatically it will vanish,” he explained.

IVRS facility for those without smartphones

NEW DELHI,

THE ‘Aarogy Setu Interactive Voice Response System’ has been implemented to include citizens with feature phones and landline connections under the ambit of the ‘Aarogya Setu' mobile application, the Union Health Ministry has said, urging people to download the application for combating COVID-19. The ‘Aarogy Setu Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS)’ is a toll-free service, available across the country, wherein citizens can give a missed call to the number ‘1921’ and they will get a call back requesting for inputs regarding their health, the Ministry said in a statement on Monday.

“The questions asked are aligned with Aarogy Setu App, and based on the responses given, citizens will also get an SMS indicating their health status and further alerts for improving their health,” it said. The toll-free service is implemented in 11 regional languages similar to the mobile application. The inputs provided by citizens will be made part of the Aarogy Setu database and the information will be processed to send alerts to people on the action to be taken to ensure their safety, it said.