KOCHI : The govt on Wednesday informed the High Court that overseas firm Sprinklr was hired under pressing need to make accurate assessment of Covid-19 in the state. A quick decision was hit upon following an expert report that said, as many as 80 lakh people in the state could be ill with the virus in a short time gap of 28 April and 3 March. Given a high density of Gulf expats based here and their likely return, the prospects presented by the report was unnerving, the govt told the court. All data amassed by Sprinklr is stored in Cloud named Amazon, owned by government company C-Dit, with security systems are in place to make sure that data leak would be impossible, it added.
Amazon Cloud is Central-Govt-recognised storage facility audited by its own agency, the Electronic Information Technology Department. Hence, a data leak will instantly fall on Centre's radar triggering security measures as would be needed, the govt explained in its statement to the court.
The transaction was as part of Free Trade Agreement that does not call for permission from the IT department. The purchase order comprises data protection systems and conditions thereof. When lives of public are in jeopardy, some privacy would get compromised. Personal details are collected from infected people to render safety to their lives as well.
Besides, apart from recording pre-existing medical conditions, no private information of an individual is solicited for the purpose. This data is important for treatment and preventive efforts against coronavirus. Incidentally, there is no legal compulsion to seek formal consent for collecting an individual’s medical details. The Personal Data Protection law allows govt to collect health details of any individual as part of its public health safety efforts.
The government explanation came up over a Public Intrest Litigation submitted by Advocate Balu Gopalakrishnan, demanding cancelation of the company contract. The case is scheduled for hearing Friday. Meantime, Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala and BJP state president K Surendran have submitted petitions asking for similar cancellation. Seeking to rally behind, two other Congress leaders too have approached court to join the pleas.
