Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, on September 19, opened the Aarogya Setu app’s programming interface (API) for businesses that have a workforce of over 50 employees. The open API or public API will enable employers to monitor the health status of their employees as well as those users who are willing to share their health status with them. Now, software developers will be able to help application programmes exchange and share data with each other.
Businesses registered in the country will be able to access only the name of the app user and his or her Aarogya Setu health status via the API.
Since its launch in April this year, the Aarogya Setu app — meant for efficient contact tracing of patients who are COVID-19 positive — has become the most downloaded contact tracing app globally, with more than 15 crore users. It has effectively helped trace over 6.6 million Bluetooth contacts.
Already, the Government has been able to identify more than 30,000 hotspots and share the information with state governments and districts, so as to implement timely precautionary measures. The app’s IT-enabled integrated hotspot analysis system (ITIHAS) interface uses location data and the app’s analytics to locate new hotspots at sub-Pincode levels.
A cash reward of Rs 4 lakh had been offered by the Government in May to anyone who could identify bugs in the app and help make it more effective. The Government at the time wished to collaborate with security researchers and developers to make the app more secure.
