Speed Post News Network
New Delhi : Union Health & Family Welfare (H&FW) Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan on April 21, 2020, launched the COVID India Seva, which provides an interactive platform to establish a direct channel of communication with millions of Indians amid 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. Through this, people can pose queries @CovidIndiaSeva and get them responded to in almost real time. @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.
Dr Vardhan announced the dedicated account @CovidIndiaSeva with a tweet.
Announcing the launch of @CovidIndiaSeva to respond to citizens’ queries, real-time!
Trained experts will share authoritative public health information swiftly at scale, helping to build a direct channel for communication with citizens.
@PMOIndia @TwitterIndia @PIB_India @MoHFW_India
Commenting on the announcement of the Seva, Dr Vardhan said, “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. As #IndiaFightsCorona with social distancing, 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 establish a direct channel with Indian citizens, connecting with them in real-time to provide authoritative health and public information.”
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. People can get their queries answered by tweeting to @CovidIndiaSeva.
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.