Govt’s Aarogya Setu app to be installed on smartphones by default soon

The Indian government’s covid-19 tracking app may soon be installed on smartphones by default, two sources from the smartphone industry — one a smartphone maker and the other from the Manufacturers Association for Information Technology (MAIT) — confirmed.

According to a source from the smartphone company, the government had asked companies to pre-install the app on phones earlier, but it wasn’t possible so far since manufacturing had been halted. However, the same will begin now as manufacturing is expected to resume soon

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been urging citizens to use the Aarogya Setu app to prevent the spread of covid-19. Earlier this week, in his meeting with all state chief ministers, Modi spoke about popularizing the app and asked them to ensure downloads in greater numbers. He referred to how South Korea and Singapore got success in contact tracing.