Centre issues clarification regarding Aarogya Setu App

New Delhi, October 29: Amid ongoing controversy over information regarding the development of the Aarogya Setu mobile application, the government on Wednesday issued a clarification regarding its creation, saying the app was launched in the most transparent manner in 21 days by NIC in collaboration with volunteers from industry and academia.

 

 

"The AarogyaSetu App was developed in a record time of around 21 days, to respond to the exigencies of the Pandemic with Lockdown restrictions only for the objective of building a Made in India Contact Tracing App with the best of Indian minds from Industry, Academia and Government, working round the clock to build a robust, scalable and secure App," a statement issued by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology said.

 

 

Meity also said that the names of those associated with the development of the app and management of the app ecosystem at various stages were shared when the code was released in the public domain.

 

"It has been mentioned that the Aarogya Setu App has been developed by NIC in collaboration with volunteers from industry and academia. Aarogya Setu app has been developed in the most transparent manner," Meity said in the statement adding that all details and documents including Privacy Policy and AarogyaSetu Data Access & Knowledge Sharing Protocols issued on 11th May 2020 has been uploaded on the AarogyaSetu Portal – aarogyasetu.gov.in.

 

 

 

 

Meity further said that there should be no doubt with regard to the Aarogya Setu app and its role in helping contain COVID-19 pandemic in India. Meity said, "as has been mentioned earlier, the App has been developed in a collaborative effort of Government and Private Sector." The App has been downloaded by more than 16.23 Cr users and has greatly augmented the efforts of front line health workers in the fight against COVID19. It has helped identify Bluetooth contacts of COVID positive users and issued alerts for helping people to stay safe.

 

This comes after the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) had failed to furnish information about the process of creation of the Aarogya Setu App to an RTI query. Following which Central Information Commission CIC issued notice to Chief Public Information Officers (CPIOs) of the Meity, NIC, and National e-Governance Division (NeGD) and asked them the information about the creation of the App.

 

Aarogya Setu App is currently being used for contact-tracing amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The application uses Bluetooth and GPS data of the user to collect surveillance for contact tracing in Containment Zones. It should be noted  earlier this month World Health Organization (WHO), had lauded the Aarogya Setu app saying that the app has helped city public health departments to identify areas where clusters could be anticipated.