Aarogya Setu app | IT Ministry says taking steps to comply with CIC orders

Following a present trigger discover issued over the federal government’s “preposterous” response to an RTI (Right to Information) question associated to the Aarogya Setu utility, the IT Ministry stated it was taking steps to comply with the CIC’s orders, whereas including that the app had been developed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC) in collaboration with volunteers from trade and academia.

Also learn: Govt gets notice after saying it has no information on Aarogya Setu creator

“As per the orders of the CIC, Central Public Information Officers (CPIOs) of Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY), National E-Governance Division (NeGD) and NIC have been directed to appear on November 24, 2020. MeitY is taking necessary steps to comply with the orders of the CIC,” the IT Ministry stated in an announcement.

The assertion comes after the Ministry and NIC have been slammed by the CIC over their reply to an RTI stating that they don’t have any details about the “creation” of the Aarogya Setu utility promoted by the federal government to include the unfold of COVID-19. The CIC termed the response as “preposterous” and issued a present trigger discover to the NIC to clarify why a penalty below the RTI Act shouldn’t be slapped on it for “prima facie obstruction of information and providing an evasive reply”.

In the order, Information Commissioner Vanaja N. Sarna identified that the web site of the appliance mentions that the content material on it’s “owned, updated and maintained” by MyGov and MeitY, and directed the CPIO of the Ministry to clarify why they didn’t have the requisite data.

“With regard to the above, it is clarified that there should be no doubt with regard to the Aarogya Setu App and its role in helping contain COVID19 Pandemic in India,” MeitY stated in a launch, including that, as was introduced on April 2, 2020, the Aarogya Setu App had been launched by the Government of India in a public personal partnership mode to carry the individuals of India collectively in its combat towards COVID-19.

“The names of all those associated with the development of the App and management of the App ecosystem at various stages was shared when the code was released in Open/Public Domain and the same was shared widely in media also…On all such occasions, it has been clearly mentioned that the Aarogya Setu App has been developed by NIC in collaboration with volunteers from Industry and Academia,” it added.

It stated that the app had been developed in essentially the most clear method, and all particulars and paperwork, together with the “Privacy Policy” and the “Aarogya Setu Data Access and Knowledge Sharing Protocols” issued on May 11, 2020 had been uploaded on the Aarogya Setu portal.

The App, as per the federal government, has been downloaded by greater than 16.23 crore customers, has helped establish Bluetooth contacts of COVID-19 optimistic customers, and in issuing alerts for serving to individuals to keep protected. “Among those who have been advised testing, almost 25% have tested positive. This is much higher compared to the overall positivity rate of 7-8%. Thus, the efficiency of testing has gone up with Aarogya Setu. In addition, Aarogya Setu ITIHAS interface with location data has helped identify emerging hotspots where proactive steps have been taken by Health authorities and administration in order to contain the spread of the Virus,” it added.

(Inputs from PTI.)