#StartupsVsCovid19: Ola Offers CONNECTS Tech Platform To Support India’s Pandemic Fight

Bengaluru-based mobility unicorn Ola has announced that it is offering its technology platforms and capabilities to government and public service organisations to tackle Covid-19. The company has launched the Ola CONNECTS (Comprehensive Navigation, Networking, Control and Tracking Solution) initiative to support the efforts on the ground.

The company said that CONNECTS can be deployed as a turn-key solution or customised to specific requirements, to assist governments and its various agencies in managing real-time war rooms for various operations at scale, with 100% data privacy and security. The platform and required development solutions are being offered free of cost to the government and its various agencies.

The capabilities include:

• Navigation and real-time tracking of enrolled vehicles and people
• User activity can be restricted to specific zones with alerting mechanisms on deviation through geo-fencing controls
• Real-time alert system
• Crowd and flow management, which will enable scheduling, flow control and planning capabilities to support social distancing norms.
• AI-enabled selfie authentication for security checks to ensure all preventive measures like usage of masks are being strictly adhered to

The company said that Ola CONNECTS can be replicated across various use-cases including emergency and healthcare support, supply chain management, law enforcement, frontline resource deployment, incident and information response, and war-room management, amongst others.

Pranay Jivrajka, cofounder, Ola said, “By opening up, Ola CONNECTS to various state governments and public service organisations across the country, we are able to 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.”

The development comes after the government of Punjab thanked Ola for sharing its technology solutions. Ola confirmed that it has collaborated with the government of Punjab to provide officials with a medium to effectively track and manage over 17 lakh farmers’ produce and their vehicle movement into public markets across the state while following social distancing norms.

Here, Ola has shared its technology capabilities to provide a direct channel to pass authentic information to farmers including distributing security travel passes digitally thus eliminating the need for physical distribution, which happens at large gatherings.

The company specified that Ola CONNECTS ensures that personal and confidential information received will be dealt with the highest standards of care and the data will be processed in accordance with applicable law and the Company’s existing privacy policy.

As a group, Ola has been offering donations and its drivers as well to support the country amid pandemic. Ola has announced a Drive the Driver Fund to offer relief to the driver community. The funds will be used for emergency support and essential supplies. Drivers and their families will also have access to free medical consultation. In due course, Ola Foundation will also take up initiatives to support drivers in areas such as aid for children’s education amongst others.

While Bhavish Aggarwal, cofounder and CEO will forgo a year’s salary, Ola group and employees have also contributed INR 20 Cr to the fund. Further, the company also offered 500 Ola cars to the Karnataka government for Covid-19 pandemic-related work.