Dominic Xavier wonders why two government departments say they have no idea about who created the Aarogya Sethu app.
The IVRS is a toll-free service, where citizens are asked to give a missed call to the number 1921 and they will get a call back requesting for inputs regarding their health.
Passengers, who do not have the app installed on their mobile phones, might be asked to do so after their arrival at the station.
The exponential number of downloads can be attributed to a call by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking people to have the app on their mobiles, combined with the government's push for downloading of the app through other channels, reports Neha Alawadhi.
The ministry of home affairs has made the use of Aarogya Setu app mandatory for all employees, both private and public, and pinned the responsibility for compliance on the head of respective organisations.
'Transparency, privacy and security have been the core design principle of Aarogya Setu. Opening the source code to developer community signifies Government of India continuing principal to these commitments'
The army in its warning has asked personnel about the need to be sensitised about the Pakistani spy agencies' designs while downloading the application.
Technology can help keep us safe, but fear must not be used to track citizens without their consent, he said. The mobile application helps users identify whether they are at risk of the COVID-19 infection.
The official also said the government's official app helped generate information about 697 potential hotspots in the country.
On Tuesday, a French hacker and cyber security expert Elliot Alderson had claimed that 'a security issue has been found' in the app and that 'privacy of 90 million Indians is at stake'. Dismissing the claims, the government said 'no personal information of any user has been proven to be at risk by this ethical hacker'.
'When a person is capable of infecting 50 others, will you think about the privacy of the person or about protecting the lives of people?'
All central government employees were on Wednesday asked to immediately download the 'Aarogya Setu' mobile application and to come to office when the application shows "safe" status for commuting, an order issued by the personnel ministry said.
Information Commissioner, in a terse order, pointed out that the website of the application mentions that the content on it is "owned, updated and maintained" by MyGov and MeitY
Non-scheduled commercial flights are being arranged and this operation will begin from May 7 in a phased manner.
'The information is used only to fight the COVID-19 virus and the privacy terms explicitly state that information will be used only for this purpose.'
'Install the app for yourself and your family.' 'Make sure that everybody you come in contact with on a daily basis -- your drivers, your maids, your colleagues at work -- make sure they too are using the app.' 'Also encourage people who carry some influence, like office managers, to convince their employees to do the same.' 'This only helps in improving your safety levels.'
The ministry of civil aviation said on Thursday that about a third of operations will be allowed under strict norms when domestic flight services restart on Monday after a two-month hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic, and all the airlines will have to adhere to the upper and lower limits of fares prescribed by the government.
'He (Khalid) can't be made to incarcerate in jail for infinity merely on account that others who were part of the mob have to be identified and arrested in the matter'
The Delhi high court said on Friday the purpose of Right to Information (RTI) Act is to bring in transparency, and if any information has been sought, it should be made public unless exempted from disclosure under the law.
The government also said the coronavirus tracking app Aarogya Setu is secure as it has been designed keeping in mind the privacy of people and is playing a crucial role in India's fight against COVID-19.
All scheduled commercial passenger flights have been suspended in India since March 25 when the Modi government imposed a lockdown to contain the novel cornavirus pandemic.
'Registration for the newly eligible category for COVID-19 vaccination opens today at 4 pm on cowin.gov.in and Aarogya Setu app'
The outcome ratio of COVID-19 -- the ratio of recoveries and deaths of closed cases -- was recorded at 90:20.
At 4.35 pm, a tweet from the verified Twitter handle of the Aarogya Setu mobile application said the CoWIN portal is working and that there was a minor glitch at 4 pm, which was fixed.
For many the resumption of trains is a big boon, but some say it doesn't come without confusion and worries
Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Tuesday urged state IT ministers to move swiftly and promote electronics manufacturing through pro-investment initiatives, in a bid to tap a "great opportunity" that now beckons India. Prasad, who interacted with state IT ministers through video-conference against the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic, told reporters later that eased connectivity norms to facilitate work-from-home, which were to end on April 30, have now been extended till July 31.
The Airports Authority of India issued a standard operating procedure to airport operators on Wednesday for recommencement of domestic flights from May 25 onwards.
Terming the decision as "good news for cinema lovers", Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Prakash Javadekar said that Union home ministry had given the nod to the decision of opening the cinema halls on January 27.
Rediff reader Amit Jain, 43, from Raipur, Chhattisgarh offers a smart solution to fight the pandemic.
Russia asks World Athletics to postpone decision on possible expulsion.
Personal data of thousands of people in India has been leaked from a government server which includes their name, mobile number, address and Covid test result, and these information can be accessed through online search.
Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Telangana, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal -- contribute 85.5 per cent of active caseload and 87 per cent of total deaths in India.
The Bharatiya Janata Party will hold a month-long campaign staring from June to mark the first anniversary of the Modi 2.0 government and will hold digital rallies in all districts across the country, its general secretary Bhupendra Yadav said.
The ministry said that states can also develop their own protocol with regards to quarantine and isolation as per their assessment.
No physical offerings such as 'prasad' distribution or sprinkling of holy water will be allowed inside the religious place.
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"We commend your leadership and the proactive measures you and your government have taken to flatten the curve of the COVID-19 infection rate in India, such as adopting a national lockdown, expanding focused testing to identify hot spots for isolation, quarantining, and care, and significantly increasing health expenditures to strengthen the health system response and promote R&D and digital innovation," Gates wrote.
The ISL organisers released the fixtures of only the first half of the 11-team league. The schedule covers matches to be played till January 11, 2011. The remaining fixtures will be released later.
We have no standard processes in place to address the more serious public health hazard of our lifetime, observes Aakar Patel.
The economies of states and union territories such as Puducherry, Kerala, Goa, etc and some North-eastern states are heavily dependent on tourism and hospitality, which is yet to get relaxation from lockdown restrictions.
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