Covid-19 has hit the world very hard and In India, number of patients crossed 70000 and death rates crossed 2400. Indian economy was also seriously hit and unemployment increased to the highest especially in the unorganized sector. Though the economy is struggling, the tech innovation in India during the pandemic should be appreciated and was very much helpful to the society.
Automation – Apps and ventilators
India is a densely populated country and therefore the virus spread quickly. In order to face this challenge, robotic system was introduced in some parts of the country to ensure social distancing. Asimov Robotics, a start-up in Kerala deployed robots at the entrances of office buildings and other public spaces. Kerala had the experience in their fight against Nipha virus and the precautions they took was a lesson to other states in India and even developed nations.
In the April month itself, Indian Government was able to launch the ‘Aarogya Setu app’, which uses GPS and Bluetooth to inform the users when they are at a risk of exposure to COVID-19. Even Google and Apple were late in launching a similar app in US.
Research centres and Hospitals across India, developed cost effective ventilators for COVID-19 patients within a limited time. Sree Chithira Thirunal Institute of Medical Sciences and technology developed cheap test kit for analysing Corona virus and also developed a convalescent plasma therapy for diagnosis of COVID-19.
Collaboration and Communication
Engineering Institutes in India, Department of Science and Technology, Industry experts everyone collaborated during the pandemic to find solutions to push away the havoc. Automobile manufacturers in India united with health experts and biomedical engineers in manufacturing cheap ventilators. Kerala start-up mission launched a program called “Breath of Hope”, to bring together IT professionals, doctors and biomedical engineers in developing innovative medical devices. Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) conducted a hackathon to develop solutions for COVID-19. All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) announced a competition for technical experts and start-ups in India to develop a Mobile based Video conferencing application for the nation.
If India can sustain this mindset in entrepreneurs, then after COVID-19 it will boost India’s socio-economic recovery process and will be very much beneficial to the economy.
