Sonu Sood launches new initiative ‘COVREG’; world’s biggest vaccination registration in Rural India

Actor Sonu Sood launches new initiative 'COVREG' (File Photo: Instagram/ Sonu Sood)

COVID-19: Just when you think actor Sonu Sood has done enough for the common citizens , the actor comes up with new ideas, initiatives to prove that there is no limit to helping people especially in India, where citizens were denied basic help when the pandemic struck the country, leaving thousands of migrant workers jobless, without roof on their heads. Actor Sonu Sood came to their rescue at that time not once but as many times he was called upon for help.

Now, the actor has new plans for facilitating vaccination services to rural India. Sonu Sood has recently launched a new initiative ‘COVREG’, which aims to create the world’s biggest volunteer program for COVID-19 vaccination registration in Rural India. The initiative is powered by rural fintech leader Spice Money and will onboard volunteers through its website www.covreg.in .

After finishing with registration, the volunteers will be provided with an app to help with COVID vaccine registrations which aims at covering approximately 95 crore of Indian rural population. That comprises over 65 per cent of the total Indian population. Spice Money will help provide the technological expertise for building the app. Currently the fintech company provides a redirection to the Cowin website with the help of its Adhikari app and web portal which has been so far used by more than 2 lakh Adhikaris based in rural India to help register their customers for India’s biggest vaccination drive.

COVREG will be the first ASP-enabled B2B apps. Meaning, it will allow for an assisted model in vaccination registration in rural India. The app has been authorised by the Ministry of Health, Government of India as Application Service Provider (ASP), with protected CoWIN APIs.

The COVREG volunteers will be trained to address any issues or problems that people may need assistance with, such as a lack of ID proof, wherein they will assist the beneficiaries in applying for a PAN card online. Anyone with a smartphone and 4G connectivity can become a part of this volunteering program by registering on their official website.

As we know that the rural population of India continues to struggle due to low digital literacy. Thus, they are unable to fully benefit from the digital self-registration services offered to them for vaccine registration. COVREG will cater to the challenges regarding lack of digital literacy, infrastructure and accessibility in rural areas. The volunteers of the initiative will also work towards eliminating vaccine hesitancy among people by educating the beneficiaries with the right information and busting myths around it. The volunteers will help register rural citizens and book slots for both the doses of vaccination for them. The volunteers will also ensure that they reach the vaccination centres and and receive certification after receiving the jab.

Spice Money’s huge network with more than 5 lakh Adhikaris (banking correspondent agents) and partners, covering 95 per cent of the rural pincodes in India, will be leveraged as COVREG volunteers to ensure maximum reach in rural villages. The volunteers currently working with the Sonu Sood Charity Foundation will also be part of the COVREG volunteer network. The foundation is also aiming to recruit a large number of people as volunteers to support the initiative.

Ek Soch Foundation, a partner organisation, will also be doing their bit for the initiative. They will be responsible for on-ground volunteer management. The mobilisation of such a massive workforce will enable spread of right information, education and alleviate vaccine hesitancy in every corner of India.
Actor and philanthropist Sonu Sood said,” In order to win the battle against COVID-19, vaccination holds the utmost importance. Rural India which has been struggling with the pandemic are now struggling with vaccine registrations. So this initiative is taken after deeply understanding the struggle rural India is facing after months of on-ground work. COVREG will not only address rural-specific issues of vaccine registration and will also do its best to provide much-needed assistance to hesitant rural citizens. The support that neighbourhood volunteers are willing to give will only intensify the vaccine registration process in rural India.

Dilip Modi, Founder, Spice Money, said that vaccinating the rural population is the only way to control the pandemic and rebuild rural livelihoods at this time. The assisted mode of COVREG has been created to address the challenges faced by rural citizens where volunteers handhold rural citizens throughout the vaccination process. We have always been passionate about Sonu Sood’s philanthropic journey and collaborating with COVREG is a step towards our common vision of rural upliftment, he added.

About COVREG

Initiative by Sonu Sood, COVREG aims to create the world’s biggest volunteer program for rural India for covid vaccination registration. The word COVREG comes from – COV means COVID and REG means REGISTRATION. The word also comes with the objective of expanding the vaccination registration Coverage to rural India.

All you need to know about Spice Money

Spice Money is India’s leading rural fintech company. It has over 500,000 Adhikaris (entrepreneurs) that offer cash deposit, Aadhar enabled payment system for cash withdrawal, mini ATM, insurance, loans, bill payments, cash collection centre for customer/agents/representative of NBFC/Banks among others. More than 90 per cent of their network resides in semi-urban and rural India. One can avail the Spice Money services via Spice Money App (Adhikari App) and web portal.The technology platform has earned 4.4 star ratings, on Google Play Store. The app, with the help of its cutting edge technology and extensive network, is trying to help people across India with smooth access to various financial services.