Arogya Setu app now mandatory for journey in special trains

The Indian Railway has announced that passengers travelling in AC special trains mandatorily install Aarogya Setu application in their mobile phones before starting journey.

It is mandatory for passengers to dowload Aarogya Setu app before commencing journey, Railway Ministry tweeted late last night.

The railways announced special trains from 15 destinatios, connecting New Delhi from Tuesday onwards.

Follow live updates on coronavirus

Earlier the Union Home Ministry said downloading Aarogya Setu app is not mandatory but advised passengers to download it.

The mobile application helps users identify whether they are at risk of COVID-19. It also provides people with important information, including ways to avoid coronavirus and its symptoms.

The app gives colour coded-designation to users as per their health status and travel history. It helps the user know if he or she is near anyone who has tested positive for the virus.

The government claimed that so far more than 9.8 crore people have downloaded the app. It helped to generate information about 697 COVID-19 potential hotspots in the country. It also alerted 1.4 lakh people about possible risk of infection due to proximity to infected persons.

The app was developed by National Informatics Centre (NIC) under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.