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Ola CONNECTS: Ola opens up their technology for Indian Government against COVID-19

Ola Connects is an initiative by Ola to help the government. They have dedicated their technology to the government to use against COVID-19.

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CIOL Bureau
New Update
OLA Connects as a COVID-19 relief initiative

Ola is India's largest mobility platform that offers bikes, cars on rental and hires basis. This time, they have extended their support to the Indian Government with their new service: Ola CONNECTS.

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Ola CONNECTS- COmprehensive Navigation, NEtworking, Control and Tracking Solution.

Bhavish Aggarwal, Ola's Co-founder tweeted:

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This technology can be used as a direct solution or can be customised to specific requirements, to assist governments and its various agencies. It can manage Real-Time War Rooms for various operations at scale amid the ongoing COVID crisis. The company has built the app with 100% data privacy and world-class security. They have offered this tech to the government in the national interest and welfare of citizens. The company has offered the technology and its required development solutions free of cost to the government and its various agencies.

“By opening up, Ola CONNECTS to various state governments and public service organisations across the country, we can offer a ready to deploy a technology solution that addresses unique challenges in the various relief initiatives that are underway. All of Ola’s innovations across AI, tracking technologies, allocation and flow management are part of the CONNECTS platform. We are committed to serving the nation in every way possible and are offering this platform free of cost, dedicated to the hundreds of thousands of doctors, healthcare professionals and frontline staff leading our fight against COVID-19.”

-Said Pranay Jivrajka, Co-Founder, Ola

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What are the features of Ola Connects?

The platform will have capabilities such as

- Navigation and Real-time tracking.  This will help the government to track millions of enrolled vehicles/people 24×7.

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- Geofencing Controls. The government can restrict user activity to specific zones through alerting mechanisms on the deviation.

- Real-time Alert System and Crowd and Flow Management.  This will enable Scheduling, Flow control and planning capabilities to support social distancing norms.

- AI-enabled Selfie Authentication: This feature will help the authorities to conduct random checks to ensure all preventive measures like usage of masks are being strictly adhered to.

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Has the technology been used before?

Yes. Ola CONNECTS had earlier collaborated with Government of Punjab to effectively track and manage over 17 lakh farmers’ produce and their vehicle movement. It helped the vehicled go to Mandis across the state while following the current social distancing norms.

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How will this model be useful?

The Government can use Ola CONNECTS for:

- Emergency and Healthcare Support

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- Supply Chain Management

- Law Enforcement

- Frontline Resource Deployment

- Incident and Information Response

- War-Room Management amongst others.

Pranay also said,

With the widespread outbreak of COVID-19, nations across the globe are taking bold measures to counter the threat posed by the pandemic. India has been leading this fight by example, through the implementation of strict on-ground measures. As a platform that serves hundreds of millions of users every day, our scale and innovations can be put to good use during these very challenging times.

Ola's offer amid this COVID-19 fight will prove beneficial to the country. In recent weeks, Ola has waived off lease rental for its driver-partners. They will also pay some amount to driver-partners and their families who test positive with COVID-19. Additionally, Ola has also donated 5 Crore Rupees to PM Cares Fund in these tough times.

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