India’s Public Servants have created a platform called the Civil Services Association Reach to Support National Disasters (CARUNA) to assist the Government in its fight against COVID-19.
Launching the platform, Sanjeev Chopra of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) said it was there to assist, support and supplement the Government’s efforts with regard to Coronavirus “using our networks, skills and resources”.
“Since Civil Servants are spread out across the country, this network can be used to create a database of information on migration, essential supplies and medical equipment like masks, ventilators, personal protective equipment and so on,” Mr Chopra said.
“Obviously, this is no alternative to what the Government is doing, but if officers across the country can collaborate their efforts, then why not?”
Another official added that such a network was important since, at the local level, shortages of supplies were being felt.
“So it was felt that officers should use their network and resources to assist the Government,” the anonymous official said.
The official said CARUNA had set up teams in sync with groups created by the Government to tackle all issues related to the pandemic.
“We have assigned different officers depending on their domain expertise for each area and they will be responsible for preparing the platform’s response to the outbreak,” the official said.
“The teams will assist the Government in specific areas like medical emergency management planning, availability of hospitals, isolations and quarantine facilities, disease surveillance and testing and critical care training.”
New Delhi, 6 April 2020
