IT Ministry is hosting a hackathon to find solutions for coronavirus
The Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) on Friday started a 'hackathon' to find working solutions for overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) on Friday started a 'hackathon' to find working solutions for overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Aim of this hackathon is to strengthen fight against COVID-19. The winning ideas from few top participating teams, as implementable solutions on corona crisis is expected to help India and global citizens," MeitY said in a statement.
Minister of State for Electronics & IT, Communications and Human Resource Development Sanjay Dhotre while inaugurating the program said coronavirus has thrown unprecedented challenges for the world and industries alike.
"While we continue to fight these challenges as a nation, amidst business disruptions and remote working scenarios, it is important for all including governments, industry and individuals to contribute with all its might to overcome the present and emerge stronger as humanity," Dhotre said.
The minister said he has strong conviction that in an era where social distancing has become the new normal, digital solutions and products will reconnect people and thereby contribute to the economic recovery.
Over 2,000 teams and over 15,000 participants are participating in the 48-hour hackathon with expert mentoring from India, Estonia and Finland.
Top teams from India will participate in 'Hack the Crisis - World' global hackathon in the coming weeks.
In another initiative,the government on Thursday launched a mobile app called 'Aarogya Setu' to help people assess themselves the risk of catching coronavirus infection and alert authorities if they have come in close contact with a person infected with the deadly virus.
The app uses your phone's Bluetooth and GPS systems to alert you whenever you come within six feet of a COVID-19 infected person. The alerts are generated by scanning through government-owned, location-specific patient databases.
According to a ministry official, the app will detect only fresh cases and will send out alerts to only those who get close to the infected person.
(Disclaimer: Additional background information has been added to this PTI copy for context)
(Edited by Kanishk Singh)