Context:

The Indian government launched a new tracking app, Aarogya Setu, to make credible information about the novel coronavirus accessible to the masses.

About:

• The Aarogya Setu application is aimed at “augmenting” efforts to “proactively” inform the citizens about the “best practices and relevant advisories pertaining to the containment of COVID-19.”
• It was developed by the National Informatics Center which falls under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
• Aarogya Setu essentially helps users in identifying whether they are at risk of being infected by the coronavirus by checking if they have knowingly or unknowingly come into contact with individuals that have been tested positive with COVID-19.
• Aarogya Setu uses a government database of infected people to function.

How does it work

• Aarogya Setu supports up to 11 different Indian languages, including Hindi and English, and requires Location and Bluetooth access to determine if you have recently come in contact with a COVID-19 positive patient.
• People will have to fi rst register their mobile numbers before using the Aarogya Setu app.
• The government claims that the data stored on the app is “encrypted” and doesn’t share with any third-party vendors. The app will also tell you if you are in a safe location or not.  Android users will also receive live tweets from the Ministry of Health.
• Besides this, the app also has a dedicated chatbot that asks you a series of questions to determine if you have any symptoms of Covid-19 as well as inform you about the various facilities and updates from the health ministry along with a series of helpline numbers nationally and state-wise