Government eyeing tech solutions to contain virus spread

New Delhi: The Centre is looking at creating a pool of at least 30 technology solutions suppliers this week to fulfil the country’s need for mobile applications and technology tools to combat Covid-19.

It has invited manufacturers to submit their bids for 21 types of tech solutions, along with other medical equipment, before Friday. These include wristbands and identity cards with GPS to monitor the movements of patients of Covid-19, analyse and help contain spread of the infection, ensure live monitoring of people in quarantine and help departments with data that can help authorities enforce restrictions on movement as and when necessary, said officials.

Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Limited, a public sector unit which assists the government in procuring resources and solutions for technology-related problems of ministries, has asked manufactures to share designs and proposals for tools that can not only monitor quarantined people and track the spread of coronavirus in real time but also help the urban local bodies in states to track their own workers as and when the lockdown is eased.

By April 17, according to government officials, the aim is to create a list of 30 manufacturers, of which talks with 10 have started. Digital tracking tools that help authorities in “geofencing of zones, wrist watches, I-cards with GPS to track the spread of the infection and movement of patients, payroll systems that can apply predefined fines to workers who violated the attendance norms” are among the requirements, according to the specifications for bids opened by the government last weekend.

The PSU has also asked manufactures to come up with designs of tools that have an “ability to gather historical intelligence of any area”, apart from asking for AI-based face detection, tools that can assist urban local bodies in ability “to assist a person in times of distress or needing urgent help”, and also set up SOS call centres. “We have specified that the data server centre should be in India… as for technology related tools, we are encouraging Indian manufacturers,” said a government official.

“We are going through them to see if they fulfil all technical specifications. By Friday, we hope to have a list of 30 empanelled suppliers that the government can depend on for its needs," the official added.

This is also the first time the government is taking the help of a tech support PSU to step up its medical supplies, even as a number of states have raised concerns over shortage of protective gear for frontline workers.

These include sanitisation and disinfection chambers, personal protective coverall (garments) along with shoe cover, personal protective goggles, N95 face masks, nitrile gloves, hospital air purifiers, nurse call systems, triple layer surgical masks, face shields, ventilators, modular isolation chambers, integrated unified messaging systems, disaster management system, oxygen plants, smart ICU systems and mobile air ventilation masks.

Nations around the world are boosting their surveillance of individuals with tech tools. Countries such as Israel, Singapore and South Korea are also using a combination of location data, video camera footage and credit card information to track Covid-19.

India has also been using CCTV cameras, apps such as Arogya Setu and drone data as part of its strategy to combat Covid-19.

But privacy experts have raised concerns about the use of the data, how it is being stored and the potential for authorities to use it for surveillance, even after the pandemic.