Centre softens stance on download of Aarogya Setu app in lockdown 4.0 guidelines

In a significant development, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs on Sunday (May 17) scaled down its earlier directive on Aarogya Setu aap that had made it compulsory for several categories of people to download the app which has been designed to curb the spread of coronavirus COVID-19.

The latest order released by MHA on Sunday regarding Aarogya Setu highlighted the change in stand of the Centre when it comes to downloading the app.

“With a view to ensuring safety in offices and workplaces, employers on best effort basis should ensure that Aarogya Setu is installed by all employees having compatible mobile phones. District authorities may advise individuals to install the Aarogya Setu application on compatible mobile phones and regularly update their health status on the app,” said the MHA.

In its May 1 guidelines, the MHA had said "use of Aarogya Setu app shall be mandatory for all employees, both private and public. It shall be the responsibility of the head of the respective organisation to ensure 100 per cent coverage of the app among the employees".

The last guidelines said that the local authority "shall ensure 100 per cent coverage of Aarogya Setu app among the residents of containment zones", a point which was not mentioned in Sunday's order.

It may be recalled that a French hacker who goes by the name Elliot Alderson had claimed few days ago that "a security issue has been found" in the app and that "privacy of 90 million Indians is at stake".

The government rejected Alderson's claim saying Aarogya Setu is free from any data or security breach and "no personal information of any user has been proven to be at risk by this ethical hacker".

"We are continuously testing and upgrading our systems. Team Aarogya Setu assures everyone that no data or security breach has been identified," the government had said through the app's Twitter handle.