Last year the pandemic’s first outbreak devastated us. The government had to declare a lockdown for several months to manage the situation. No one knew that COVID-19 would have such a horrific outcome. Due to this, there was considerable development and implementation of technology solutions by the time the second wave came.
How government came in front?
The Government, Startups, Academic Institutions, and large and small businesses came up with different innovations to help those in need. The government issued modified laws to promote the rapid development of innovations and technologies that can help eliminate the Coronavirus.
Some initiatives
Telangana and Madurai are trailing mask violators with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence. A Pune-based startup is trying to implement the same in commercial shops and offices. Many academic institutes have been encouraging their students to create applications that provide the details of essentials like hospital vacancies, oxygen and vaccines suppliers, etc.
Steps by some big MNCs and government agencies
Accenture and Microsoft with the Indian Government have provided people with an AI called MyGovSaathi. All the accurate and latest collected data is stored here and can be accessed easily via chatbot. About 50,000 users are guided through this application.
ATMAN AI, developed by DRDO, can distinguish between normal, pneumonia and COVID patients through chest X-rays. Users can use the technology through multiple electronic devices like mobiles, tablets and computers. The accuracy of the result is 96.73 percentile, and it has been tested and validated by HCG doctors in Bengaluru. While in Mumbai, a startup Qure.ai with the help of deep learning, has developed a screening tool for Corona diagnosis.
The drug discovery process is time-consuming, risky and highly expensive. A German-Indian organization, Innoplexus, investigated the ability of hydroxychloroquine, a drug to treat malaria, and Remdesiver, an anti-Ebola drug, to cure COVID-19.
Last year, the Indraprastha Institute in Delhi developed an AI model for drug reuse. The AI checks the similarity between the drug’s chemical structure and the genomic structure of the virus. It is successful in treating viruses with a genomic structure similar to COVID-19.
Conclusion
As time passes, innovation and technology keep on advancing. But soon, there will come a time in the world as well in India where the traces of the pandemic will be minimal. Until that time arrives, we need to stay optimistic and ensure that we all are doing the best in our vicinity to develop our society.
