COVID India Seva launched

PTI, Apr 21, 2020, 5:32 PM IST

New Delhi: Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Tuesday launched the ‘COVID India Seva’, an interactive platform for establishing a direct channel of communication with millions of Indians during the pandemic.

This initiative is aimed at enabling transparent e-governance delivery in real-time and answering citizen queries swiftly, at scale, especially in crisis situations like the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, an official statement said.

Through this, people can pose queries @CovidIndiaSeva and get them responded to in almost real time.

The @CovidIndiaSeva works off a dashboard at the backend that helps process large volumes of tweets, converts them into resolvable tickets, and assigns them to the relevant authority for real-time resolution, the statement said.

“Trained experts will share authoritative public health information swiftly at scale, helping to build a direct channel for communication with citizens,” the minister said in a tweet.

Over time, Twitter has proved to be an essential service for both the government and citizens to interact and exchange information, especially in times of need. We are happy to make a concerted online effort by adopting the Twitter Seva solution.

“It is powered by a team of experts at our end who are trained and equipped to treat and respond to each query uniquely, and at scale. This will enable us in establishing a direct channel with Indian citizens, connecting with them in real-time to provide authoritative health and public information,” Vardhan said.

The dedicated account will be accessible to people be it local or national in their scope.

Whether it is for latest updates on measures taken by the government, learning about access to healthcare services or seeking guidance for someone who perhaps has symptoms but is unsure about where to turn to for help, @CovidIndiaSeva will empower public to reach out to the authorities, the statement stated.

“It is important to note that the ministry will respond to broader queries and public health information. This does not require the public to share personal contact details or health record details.

On the launch of the interactive platform, Mahima Kaul, Director, Public Policy, India and South Asia, Twitter said, “We understand our role as an essential service for both the government to communicate with citizens and for the public to stay connected with each other. As #IndiaFightsCorona with social distancing, we are committed to working with the Government of India as they use the influence of social media to connect with the public at large.