Aarogya Setu app registers 9 crore downloads: Kant

New Delhi, May 4

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Aarogya Setu, a government app for tracking COVID-19 patients, has recorded close to 90 million (9 crore) downloads to date, and is being updated with features such as telemedicine, Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said on Monday.

The Centre has made it mandatory for all government and private sector employees to use Aarogya Setu mobile application to bolster the efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic and entrusted the organisational heads with ensuring its 100 per cent coverage.

“The Aaroygya Setu app has close to 90 million downloads to date and is being regularly updated, with feature like telemedicine being added,” Kant said during a media briefing.

The mobile application helps users identify whether they are at the risk of COVID-19 infection. It also provides people with important information, including ways to avoid the infection.

Kant, who also heads the Empowered Group 6 on coordinating with private sector NGOs and international organisations to tackle the COVID-19 outbreak, said the panel had mobilised more than 92,000 NGOs/CSOs registered on NGO Darpan.

“EG 6 has made an appeal to NGOs and CSOs (civil society organisations) to assist states and districts in identifying hotspots, deputing volunteers and helping people in need,” he said.

Kant also pointed out that the 112 aspirational districts of India were leading India’s fight against COVID-19.

“As of now, there are about 610 cases in 112 aspirational districts which are considered fairly low at less than 2 per cent of the national level of infections,” he said.

Kant also pointed out that the EG 6 had mobilised various UN agencies and facilitated them in creating timely response action plans in coordination with various states and line ministries through intensive collaboration with the UN Resident Coordinator for India, and country heads of the WHO, the UNICEF, the UNFPA, the UNDP, the ILO, the UN Women, the UN-Habitat, the FAO, the World Bank, and the Asian Development Bank.

The death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 1,389 and the number of cases climbed to 42,836 in the country on Monday, according to the Union Health Ministry. PTI