COVID-19 Tech Tools for Public Health

As public health infrastructures struggled to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic, governments around the world turned to technological tools. A market for such tools also emerged as the private sector identified a new business opportunity. The urgency of public health concerns has meant that many of these tools have been introduced in a legal and policy vacuum, and without public deliberation. The likely infringement on privacy and other civil liberties is often relegated to a second order concern - a necessary trade-off given the enormity and severity of the crisis.

In May 2020, we began tracking the adoption of technological tools to manage public health concerns related to COVID-19 in India. While in recent times, researchers and other civil society organisations have reviewed several of the applications and tools rolled out by respective state governments in India, our intention with the tracker has been to cast a wider net. This allows us to understand not just the forms of technological social contracts underway between states and citizens, but also the role of private technology companies. The broad goal of this report is to identify the challenges and gaps in the provision of responsible digital health services in India during the pandemic.

This record provides a review of the tools identified in our tracker, along selected parameters which include equity and inclusion; privacy and data protection; accountability and transparency; adequacy of current legal frameworks; scientific validity and efficacy; and potential for misuse. These parameters, identified initially through secondary literature, were further revised through an iterative process, informed by the tools themselves, and the particularities of the Indian context. The tools have also been classified according to the functionality that they provide - i.e. Telemedicine, Remote Health Monitoring, Testing and Screening, Virus Mapping and Contact Tracing, Information and Alerts, Location Tracking, and Quarantine Management.

COVID-19 Tech Tools for Public Health in India: in Numbers

Currently, there are at least 85 different technological tools being used to augment the public health response to COVID-19 in India. These tools serve a wide range of purposes - from preliminary testing and screening, to location tracking and quarantine management.
Of the 85 tools we have identified, at least 64 have been issued by the government of India, across different states and district administrations, and have been developed either in-house or in partnership with the private sector.
There are 21 private sector backed tools, which are currently at different stages of development and deployment.
Amongst the 64 government backed applications, 44 have been developed in partnership with private developers and tech companies, and only 32 have been developed in partnership with the IT departments and other government agencies.
These tools rest on a number of different technological foundations. While some are backed by AI and IoT, others use GPS, bluetooth and cellular technology.
Some tools also use robotics, data science and statistical analysis. Amongst that tools that are mobile-phone based, only 2 have accounted for feature phones and lack of digital literacy.