Foreign tech-mag makes fatal 'overreach' claim over Aarogya Setu; quotes Rahul Gandhi

The government's mobile application 'Aarogya Setu' app has been helping immensely to curb the spread of the Coronavirus crisis. Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant revealed that to date, the app has alerted over 650 hotspots across the country and over 300 "emerging hotspots" as well. He added that the app gives an accurate forecast of hotspots and it is also preventing the origin of newer hotspots. Despite this, it continues to face an onslaught over privacy concerns and alleged state overreach, with the famed MIT Technology Review now accusing it of things that are decidedly untrue, and quoting Rahul Gandhi to buttress its claims.

Speaking to ANI about the Aarogya Setu app, Amitabh Kant said, "For instance, in Maharashtra, the engine identified over 60 hotspots across 18 districts. Across the nation, the engine predicted about 130 hotspots at the sub-post office-level between April 13 to April 20. Later, these forecasted hotspots were declared as "real hotspots" by the Union Health Ministry some 3 to 17 days after being alerted by Aarogya Setu. This way, the engine helped the government with "whom to test" and "where to test more" against the coronavirus."

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Over 96 million registered 

According to reports, over 96 million people have registered with the Aarogya Setu health care application since its launch on April 2. According to the Niti Aayog CEO, around  69 million people have taken the self-assessment test, an adoption rate of more than 71 percent, out of which, over 3.4 million people have self-declared themselves as unwell since they were showing one or more than three symptoms. Meanwhile, at least 12,500 users have been detected positive for the virus. He further added that a team of over 70 healthcare workers have reached to people who are showing two or more symptoms. Kant also informed that over 16,000 people have been administered follow-up teleconsultation by doctors. 

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MIT Technology Review criticises Aarogya Setu

Amid this, the MIT Technology Review, a tech magazine based in a country that has registered the most coronavirus cases and deaths by far, has chosen to write a piece headlined: "India is forcing people to use its covid app, unlike any other democracy",  wherein it goes on to write about how the Aarogya Setu app has accrued followers at an astonishing rate, quicker than Pokemon Go. It adds the following line, before going on to quote Rahul Gandhi: "But although the app’s growth is unprecedented, it is extraordinary in an even more important way: if you don’t install it, you might lose your job, get fined, or go to jail."

Over and above the huge unsubstantiated claim that Indians are being jailed for not downloading the app, the article's big statements on democracy do not go the whole hog in terms of providing an alternate recommendation. Perhaps the MIT Tech Review prefers Indians only download the Aarogya Setu App if they want to (which is the case, though the government strongly advises downloading it), such as how US President Donald Trump has made his own donning of the face-mask optional. 

The US has thus far reported 1.35 million Covid cases and 80,000 deaths. India has reported 59662 cases while 1981 people have succumbed. The Aarogya Setu app is available for download in the US, though not optimised for use there.

Aarogya Setu App

The mobile application has been developed by the Government of India to connect essential health services with the people of India amid the raging COVID-19 crisis. 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. It is available in 12 different languages and soon it is set to expand to all 22 scheduled Indian languages. 

Read: Coronavirus Live Updates: India's cases rise to 59,662; 17,846 recoveries, 1,981 deaths

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