Covid-19: PM Modi explains why India needs more downloads of Aarogya Setu App

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday requested for downloading of the Aarogya Setu App in large numbers and said that for the App to be effective in preventing rise of coronavirus infections, it was important that more and more people used it.

Aarogya Setu app has been developed by the government to track the progress of coronavirus in the country through its users and alert those who may have either come into contact with a positive case or a suspect by using location tracking technology. The App also provides important and credible information on the containment of the disease.

“Aarogya Setu is an important step in our fight against COVID-19. By leveraging technology, it provides important information. As more and more people use it, its effectiveness will increase. I urge you all to download it,” PM Modi tweeted on Friday night.

Earlier this week, the prime minister had urged all BJP workers to spread the word about Aarogya Setu, which was launched at the beginning of the month.

“At least 40 people should be told about this and how to use this,” he had said on April 6.

Approximately 5 million people had downloaded the App within the first few days of its launch and the number of downloads went beyond 10 million by April 8, as per the data available on the Google playstore.

Developed with the public-private partnership, the Aarogya Setu App is available for installation in both android and ios based smartphones.

“The app will calculate the risk score based on their interaction with others, using cutting edge bluetooth technology, algorithms and artificial intelligence,” Neeta Verma, director general, national informatics centre, government of India had said after its launch.

Once installed it asks users to switch on the Bluetooth technology on the phone and to turn location sharing feature to “always”.

The App uses technology to detect other devices that have Aarogya Setu installed on them and that have come in the bluetooth/GPS proximity range of the user to assess the risk one runs of contracting the disease by applying the principle of contract-tracing.

Apart from its primary function, the app also encourages people to donate to PM CARES Fund, which was set up especially after the coronavirus outbreak to invite donations to generate resources to deal with crisis of this magnitude.

The Prime Minister on Friday night also lauded contributors to the fund including the railways, Ola cabs and the international consumer internet group Prosus.