Lockdown notifications, how to apply for curfew passes, and more: The LegalCovid app launched by Samvad Partners and Aapti Institute

For the past couple of months, the authorities in India have been passing a number of notifications and orders in a bid to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.To ensure ease of access to this information, a group of lawyers has launched LegalCovid, an app that serves as a one-stop public resource to track developments surrounding the nationwide Coronavirus lockdown..Developed by Samvad Partners and Aapti Institute, the app contains notifications, regulations, and legislation - both at the Central and state level - applicable to the COVID-19 context..Rohan George, Partner at Samvad, spoke to Bar & Bench about the objective behind the app..“When the lockdown took effect, the Centre, every state government, and the courts began issuing notifications and orders. At Samvad, we decided to put together a team with members from across offices to collate all the different notifications.We realised that everybody is in the same situation as we are, so we decided that the best we could do was put out a public resource. We made our research into a Google Drive folder, which we shared with all our networks.”.When Sarayu Natarajan, founder of tech policy organisation Aapti Institute, came across the folder, she felt,“At Aapti Institute we realised that there was no way to look across notifications and search for them in an easy way. So, we thought of combining forces with Samvad to make sure that the notifications are all available for lawyers, researchers, and other interested persons in an accessible, easy way.”.George adds,“When Sarayu saw it, she reached out to us and told us that though it was a good resource, it would work much better and be easier for a layperson to use if it was an app. So we developed it into an app for easier access.”.Natarajan sheds some light on how the app can be useful, particularly for researchers and lawyers..“It enables you to look across states for a particular type of notification, say related to sanitation or lockdown. You can also look at the evolution of the notifications at the Central level, and track the exemptions under essential services given by different states.”.The app also has a feature that informs people on how to get curfew passes during the lockdown. The ‘Curfew Passes’ tab contains links to state government websites, where one can directly apply for emergency passes online..George says,“We are trying to add new functionalities as and when we can, including analyses of the most important notifications.”.Natarajan adds,“We have put together the English language notifications thus far, but hope to extend into vernacular languages over time.”.View the LegalCovid app here.