The government has asked messaging firm Whatsapp to review its proposed privacy policy changes, Minister of State for IT and Communications Sanjay Dhotre informed the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
WhatsApp has drawn massive criticism from users globally, including India, over concerns that data was being shared with its parent company, Facebook. WhatsApp, on its part, has maintained that messages on the platform are end-to-end encrypted and that neither WhatsApp nor Facebook can see the private messages on WhatsApp’s platform.
“Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) took cognizance of the WhatsApp announcement of its new Privacy Policy stated to be applicable to Indian users. To safeguard the interest of Indian users, Meity has asked WhatsApp to review the proposed privacy policy changes and also to explain the rationale of the same,” Dhotre said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha. Whatsapp has proposed its users to accept updated policy changes by March 15 if they want to continue using the app.
NEW DELHI: Former West Indies cricketers Vivian Richards, Richie Richardson, Jimmy Adams and Ramnaresh Sarwan thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for helping the Caribbean countries by donating them Covid-19 vaccines under the Vaccine Maitri initiative. In March, Antigua and Barbuda received 1,75,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines out of which 40,000 were donated to the country under the ‘Vaccine Maitri’ initiative. “I would like to thank India for the wonderful contribution made to our country which is the vaccine. We thank you so much on behalf of the Antiguan and Barbudan people. We look forward, also that in the future, continued relationship. Thank you very much Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the High Commission of India. We also thank all of the people in India for such a kind gesture,” Richards said in a video posted on Twitter by the High Commission of India in Guyana.
“On behalf of the government and people of Antigua and Barbuda, I would like to thank the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi for his kind generosity in offering us 40,000 vaccines. We are extremely grateful to you and your country. Thank you very very much,” former West Indies caption Richardson added. Guyana received 80,000 doses of Made-in-India COVID-19 vaccines under the ‘Vaccine Maitri’ programme. Jamaica, Barbados, St Lucia and St Kitts and Nevis also received the vaccines under the same initiative.
A kinship across oceans.Guyana receives Made in India vaccines. #VaccineMaitri https://t.co/lZ33iy2s0v
“I just want to use this opportunity to say thank you to the Government of India for the support that they are giving to the people all across the region in donating vaccines. I know that my own home country of Jamaica is benefitting from this initiative and also Antigua where I’m currently working with Cricket West Indies. We are all deeply grateful to the Government of India and on behalf of the people in the Caribbean I would like to thank you for this great initiative,” another former Windies captain Adams said. “I would like to take this opportunity to thank Prime Minister Modi for providing the Covid-19 vaccine for us here in Guyana. We really appreciate your kindness sir, thank you so much,” former Windies batsman Sarwan said. External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar shared the clip of Richards and wrote on Twitter, “For those who love Old Cricket and New India. Perhaps even for those who understand neither cricket nor India.” Vaccine Maitri initiative aims to assist countries in their fight against the coronavirus pandemic, India dispatched ‘Made-in-India’ COVID-19 vaccines to twenty-five nations across the world. From January 20 onwards, New Delhi has supplied coronavirus vaccines to several countries including Bhutan, Maldives, Mauritius, Bahrain, Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Seychelles and Sri Lanka.
The government has announced that the COVID-19 vaccine tracking and registration app Co-WIN will also go live in India on March 1, the same day when the second phase of inoculation drive starts in the country for people above 60 years of age and those over 45 with co-morbidities. The second phase starts less than a month after the government commenced its vaccination programme for frontline health workers and select beneficiaries on January 16. The vaccination process in India is being monitored via the Co-WIN app and portal, available only to administrators and beneficiaries. Citizens who have received the two vaccine shots to date can get the COVID-19 vaccine certificate via the Co-WIN portal and Aarogya Setu app.
Currently, some details about the vaccination drive via Co-WIN remains unclear, and we’ll get a better picture once the app is available for all users. Meanwhile, News18 also spoke to RS Sharma, chairman of the Co-Win panel, to understand the government’s plan on the next phase of vaccination drive and its modalities.
How to register for the COVID-19 vaccine in India: RS Sharma, in the interview, said that eligible beneficiaries would be able to self-register from March 1 or March 2. Citizens can use portals such as the Co-WIN app, Aarogya Setu app or Co-WIN website (cowin.gov.in) for registration. Notably, there’s also a provision where people will have a walk-in system till the time the registration system is used by more and more people.
What is required for COVID-19 registration: The government explains that citizens will need to register on the Co-WIN app via their mobile number, following which they would receive an OTP. After registering on the app, users would need to provide information such as name, age, gender, and an identity document that needs to be carried to the vaccine centre. The Co-WIN app can register as many as four family members. As mentioned, the existing Aarogya Setu would also seemingly get the same benefits. Recently, the app got a dedicated CoWIN section that provides statistics and access to links where beneficiaries can receive certificates.
All about the Co-WIN app: The development over the COVID-19 vaccine tracker and registration, the Co-WIN app was announced last year. The government had then explained that citizens who are not frontline health workers would be able to register for the vaccine via the ‘Registration Module’ within the app. The admins via the ‘Administrator module’ will then track the information provided by citizens of India. The Vaccination module of the Co-WIN app will verify the beneficiary details and update vaccination status. The ‘Beneficiary Acknowledgement Module’ will send an SMS to beneficiaries and also generate QR-based certificates after one completes the vaccination process. Lastly, the Report Module will prepare reports of how many vaccine sessions have been conducted, how many people have attended those, how many people have dropped out etc.
Other details you need to know about the COVID-19 vaccine in India: RS Sharma has told NDTV that the Co-WIN app will not allow citizens to choose which vaccine they will get. They can choose the date and COVID-19 vaccine centre. Additionally, people aged above 45 years will have to upload a medical certificate mentioning their co-morbid conditions. The government is yet to specify the conditions that would be included in the over-45 age group with comorbidities.
Many private hospitals have also received certification to act as COVID-19 vaccine centres where they cannot charge more than Rs 250 per shot. COVID-19 vaccines are free of cost in government hospitals. Citizens who are not tech-savvy or do not own a smartphone can call the centre number — 1507. As mentioned, they can walk-in to the nearest centre and if there’s a vacancy.
