CoWIN can be customised, scaled up for health interventions

India’s digital COVID-19 vaccination platform CoWIN can be customised and scaled up for global health interventions, a senior Ministry of External Affairs official said. Secretary (East) in the ministry Riva Ganguly Das also noted that India is working on sharing this platform with partner countries.

“The CoWIN platform can customised and scaled up for health interventions across the globe. We are working on sharing this platform with partner countries in the interest of health cooperation and their preparedness to meet challenges to the health of countries across the world,” Das said at the ASEAN-India Track 1.5 Dialogue on Cyber Issues.

“The need for cooperation between India and ASEAN member countries in this field is, therefore, self-evident,” she further noted. She further mentioned, “We have witnessed the critical role played by digital technologies during the COVID-19 waves, in keeping the supply chains open for an accelerated and sustainable economic recovery in the region and therefore, it becomes all the more important that the digital inequalities are addressed,” Das said while underscoring the need to focus on equitable access to cyberspace and its benefits.

She added that digital inclusion is at the heart of the Digital India programme which aims at transforming India into a digitally empowered society and a knowledge economy with initiatives like BharatNet, Aspirational Districts, Digital Village, eKranthi and MyGov.

“With our transformative technology initiatives in recent years such as IndiaStack, Aadhar and UPI, we have successfully leveraged the tremendous potential of cyber technologies in implementing the SDG agenda and improving governance,” she added.

Das’ comments are in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s comments on making CoWIN platform available for all partner countries. “Right from the beginning of the pandemic, India has been committed to sharing all our experiences, expertise and resources with the global community in this battle,” PM Modi said. Business Today