In a two-page clarification tweeted from the official handle of the app, the Centre said Aarogya Setu has also been appreciated by WHO.
Aarogya Setu App was launched by govt in a public-private partnership model to bring people of India together in its fight against COVID-19, says Centre.
The Aarogya Setu app was developed in the most transparent manner with public-private collaboration in record time to fight the coronavirus, the government said on Wednesday, in a detailed clarification after reports that ministries denied any knowledge of who created the app. The names of those associated with the app were already in the public domain, it asserted.
The clarification came after Chief Information Commission (CIC) sought an explanation from the National Informatics Centre for claiming that it did not have any data regarding who made the app.
Earlier today, CIC issued a show-cause notice to central public information officers (CPIOs) of MEITY (Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology), NIC (National Informatics Centre), and NeGD (National e-Governance Division) for withholding information and providing an evasive reply to a RTI application on Aarogya Setu.
Activist Saurav Das had complained to the information commission that various ministries failed to provide details like how the app was proposed and approved; the companies, individuals, and government departments involved; and copies of mails between private persons who helped develop the app.
Over a period of two months, the query bounced off various departments. The National Informatics Centre reportedly said that the “entire file related to the creation of the app is not with NIC”. The IT ministry transferred the query to the National e-Governance Division, which said: “The information sought is not related to (our division).”
“In its clarification, the government said it was announced through press releases and social media posts on April 2 that the Aarogya Setu app was launched in public-private partnership mode “to bring people of India together in its fight against the virus.” The names of all those associated with app were shared when the source code was released in the public domain, it said.
According to the report, the app had been downloaded by more than 16 crore users and “has greatly augmented the efforts of front line health workers in the fight against COVID-19″. It also flagged that the app’s role had been appreciated by the World Health Organisation.”There should be no doubt with regard to the Aarogya Setu app and its role in helping contain the COVID-19 pandemic in India,” said the statement.