Updated: October 28, 2020 9:24:05 pm
Aarogya Setu is a contact tracing app launched by the government in April this year to contain the spread of Covid-19.
the Aarogya Setu app was developed “in the most transparent way” by the National Informatics Center (NIC) in a public-private partnership mode in record time to help contain the spread of the new coronavirus, the government clarified in a statement on Wednesday after reports that the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology denied having information about the “creation” of the application.
The clarification comes after the Central Information Commission (CIC) detained the government for an RTI query in which the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and the National Computer Center said they had no information on the “creation” of the mobile app.
“The Aarogya Setu application was developed in a record time of 21 days, to respond to the demands of the pandemic with blocking restrictions only with the aim of creating a Made in India contact tracing application with the best Indian mindset in the industry , the academy and the Government, ”said the statement from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
Clarification issued in the Aarogya Setu application. The Aarogya Setu App is a product of the Government of India created in collaboration with the best minds in industry and academia. The world’s largest contact tracing app, also appreciated by WHO. #SetuMeraBody #IndiaFightsCorona pic.twitter.com/mbhQ4pTuZw
– Aarogya Setu (@SetuAarogya) October 28, 2020
The transparency panel has asked the government to explain why it is not penalized under the Right to Information Act (RTI) for “prima facie obstructing information and providing an evasive response.” PTI reported.
In response to the CIC notice, the government said that the names of everyone associated with the development of the application and the management of the application ecosystem were already shared when the code was released into the public domain and that the Aarogya Setu portal has all details about the App including how the app works, Covid updates and why the app should be used.
Citing the app’s benefits in containing the spread of Covid-19, the government said the app has been downloaded by more than 16.23 million users and has “vastly increased the efforts of frontline healthcare workers in the fight. against Covid-19 “.
“It has helped to identify the Bluetooth contacts of positive Covid users and has issued alerts to help people stay safe,” he added.
The government also cited the World Health Organization in praising the app’s role in containing the spread of the pandemic. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus had previously called the contact tracing app one of several technology tools to help public health departments identify clusters and expand testing.
However, the Aaroyga Setu app has come under scrutiny for being allegedly invasive and violating data privacy regulations.
Information Commissioner Vanaja N Sarna, in concise order, noted that the app’s website mentions that the content is “owned, updated and maintained” by MyGov and MeitY and ordered the ministry’s CPIO to explain why it was not. They didn’t have the required information.
“The CPIO NIC should also explain that when the website mentions that Aarogya Setu Platform is designed, developed and hosted by the National Center for Informatics, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, the Government of India, then, How come they don’t have any information on creating the app, “he said.
The Information Commissioner was listening to the allegation of a Saurav Das who had tried to find out from the government details about the creation of the Aarogya Setu app, the law under which it is operating, and whether the government planned to introduce a separate law on data handling collected by the application.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) did not provide any information, prompting Das to file a complaint under the RTI Act. He had made a similar request to the NIC, which responded by saying it had no information.
The Information Commissioner issued a Notice of Proof of Cause to four officials: Deputy Directors MeitY SK Tyagi and DK Sagar, Senior General Manager of the National E-Government Division RA Dhawan and CPIO NIC Swarup Dutta.
“Recipients cannot just wash their hands saying that the information is not available with them. Some effort should have been made to find the custodian (s) of the information sought, by the public authorities concerned when apparently they are the relevant parties, ”he said.
According to a statement issued on April 2 by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, the application tracks the “interaction with others” of users and will alert the authorities if there is any suspicion that the user has been in contact with a person infected with coronavirus. .
(PTI inputs)
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