Aarogya Setu

Aarogya Setu is a mobile application developed by the Government of India to connect essential health services with the people of India in our combined fight against COVID-19. The app is aimed at augmenting the initiatives of the Government of India, particularly the Department of Health, in proactively reaching out to and informing the users of the app regarding risks, best practices and relevant advisories pertaining to the containment of COVID-19.

Overview

Aarogya Setu, which translates to 'Health Bridge' in English, is a contact tracing, syndromic mapping and self-assessment digital service, primarily a mobile app, developed by the National Informatics Centre under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). It was launched on April 2, 2020.

Functionality

The Aarogya Setu app cross-references data from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) regarding the locations of all COVID-19 testing labs across the country. The app is designed to inform its users whether they have been near a person who has tested positive for the virus by scanning a database of known cases of infection.

Privacy Concerns

The Aarogya Setu app has been criticized for being allegedly intrusive due to the amount of personal data it collects. The app's privacy policy states that the data collected is encrypted and will be used only for administering necessary medical interventions.

Impact

The Aarogya Setu app has been downloaded by more than 100 million users and has helped the government with its contact tracing efforts. The app has also been used to deliver health services and disseminate medical advisories to its users.

See Also

• COVID-19 pandemic in India
• Contact tracing
• Digital contact tracing