Aarogya Setu App Released for Jio Phones in Coronavirus Battle

Ministry of Technology (Meity) said on Thursday it had rolled out a version of its Bluetooth contact-tracking app for 50 lakh Jio Phones, the cheap internet-enabled devices sold by Reliance Industries' telecoms unit.

India was set to roll out a version of its coronavirus contact-tracing application Aarogya Setu for Jio Phones within days, as it looks to increase the reach of the system, it was reported last week.

India, which imposed the world's biggest shutdown in late March to battle the spread of the coronavirus, last month launched the Aarogya Setu (Health Bridge) app -- a Bluetooth and GPS-based application which alerts users who may have come in contact with people who later test positive for COVID-19.

The app, which was now been downloaded by 10 crore Indians, was initially available only on Google's Android and on Apple devices.

© Thomson Reuters 2020