The Karnataka government, in collaboration with the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM), has developed a data analysis tool to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic.
Deputy Chief Minister C.N. Ashwath Narayan launched the innovative tool on Saturday, during a video conference with the IT-BT industry leaders, where he appealed to the sector to join hands with the government to develop better healthcare infrastructure in the state.
The video conference was attended by Biotechnology Vision Group chairwoman Kiran Majumdar, Information Technology Vision Group chairman Krish Gopalakrishna, NASSCOM president Debjani Ghosh, NASSCOM vice- president K.S. Viswanathan, Intel India Head Nivruti Roy, Infosys COO Praveen Rao, Practo CEO Shashank and Rohini Srivatsa of Microsoft.
"The product can provide coronavirus related information including the source of infection, its classification, infection rate, statistical information, detection of the infection as well as treatment along with real-time information on available infrastructure and human resources. This optimises the use of resources," said Narayan.
Stating that Karnataka has managed the COVID-19 situation very effectively using the latest technology, Narayan mentioned that even the Centre had identified Bengaluru as a role model for its efforts to tackle the disease and attributed the success to the hard work of all frontline workers under the leadership of Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa.
"The BBMP Healthcare and Apthamitra helplines have received a lot of praise. The country has appreciated the efforts of the IT- BT sector in the battle against COVID-19. The virus will stay on for many days and we need to improve the healthcare infrastructure and digitize the healthcare services. For this, we will need the continuing support of the IT-BT sectors. We need to use all the available resources to provide 24/7 healthcare in the city. Our work should be a model for other states to follow," said Narayan, who appealed to the IT-BT companies to join hands with the government to fight the pandemic.
PM to inaugurate 25th Foundation Day of RGUHS
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the silver jubilee celebrations of the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences in Bengaluru and release a compilation of research articles through video conference, on Sunday.
Medical education minister Dr K. Sudhakar said that the PM inaugurating the event would inspire the teachers and students of the university which runs 800 affiliate institutions.
"The world is facing a huge crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic. RGUHS, in association with partners such as IIT-B, IISC, GHA, BBC, NSRCEL, Microsoft and Elsevier, has invited students for the 'Covid-19 innovation challenge', to make it a meaningful celebration. This will be the first ever healthcare innovation challenge," said Sudhakar.
RGUHS, the largest health science university in the country with 800 affiliated institutions, will enter its 25th year of inception on June 1. It has a huge student community of more than 2.5 lakh and around 23,000 faculty members.