A file photo of NITI Aayog Chairman Amitabh Kant, the head of the sixth empowered group
The government’s contact tracing app Aarogya Setu has been downloaded in 90 million smartphones across the country, Amitabh Kant, the chairman of the sixth Empowered Group told mediapersons during the Centre’s daily press briefing on the coronavirus situation in India.
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,” a government release said.
The government has mandated the necessary installation of the app in the third phase of the government's lockdown, which kicked into effect earlier in the day and is slated to go on till May 17.
Revealing an add-on feature of the app, the NITI Aayog chairman said that those having Aarogya Setu would now be able to access the telemedicine feature, which will allow them to hold a video call with a medical expert on various problems that they might be facing.
