Rs Sharma

In an exclusive interview with News18.com, Dr RS Sharma, chief executive officer of the National Health Authority, said that the work to repurpose CoWIN has already begun and it’s “a matter of just a few months" when the tech platform will finally be rolled out for booking slots of routine vaccines.

CoWIN will accept school ID of children for vaccination: RS Sharma

In a significant move, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on December 25 that India would start giving a third 'precautionary dose' to healthcare and frontline workers and those above 60 with comorbidities from January 10. Children aged 15-18 will also be eligible for vaccination. RS Sharma, the CEO of National Health Authority and CoWIN platform chief spoke to Moneycontrol's Chandra R Srikanth on the preparedness at the backend.

CoWin chief RS Sharma on India clocking 1 billion vaccinations

India has created history by vaccinating 100 crore (1 billion) people in less than a year. RS Sharma, CEO of the National Health Authority, said India’s COVID-19 vaccine delivery tech platform CoWin has been designed to absorb even higher numbers and can make swift changes in line with the government’s vaccination policy. Sharma, who is chairperson of the empowered committee for CoWin, spoke about the factors that helped India clock this milestone, its significance and the various ways in which CoWin can be re-purposed by the government going forward. Sharma was also the former chief of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), the semi-government body tasked with rolling out the national identity project Aadhaar.

Is Co-WIN an open source platform?

India's vaccination platform Co-WIN, developed using open source software, has become a topic of debate again. This time, it is about whether the platform is open source, with the government and the public taking opposing views on the issue.

CoWIN Chief RS Sharma on recording every jab and how India achieved one-crore milestone

Congratulatory messages poured in for India on August 27, after it recorded a fresh milestone in daily vaccinations -- over one crore or 10 million jabs in a day; a number that is a multiple of the population of many countries. Moneycontrol's Chandra R Srikanth spoke to National Health Authority and CoWIN chief RS Sharma where he touched upon how the one-crore a day milestone was achieved, how CoWIN records every jab in the country even if people don't register on the portal, and more.

Nandan Nilekani, RS Sharma join govt advisory council to promote open network for digital commerce

Open network for digital commerce is expected to digitise the entire value chain, standardise operations, promote inclusion of suppliers, derive efficiencies in logistics and enhance value for consumers.

Amitabh Kant and RS Sharma—two bureaucrats Modi government cannot do without

Senior government officials describe the longevity of these two bureaucrats as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s insistence on “policy continuity” in key government bodies.

Made in India CoWin to go global, over 50 countries show interest in adopting tech: RS Sharma

The government will create an open source version of the application to let other countries use it free of cost, said Sharma on June 28.

CoWin platform is scalable, can take up to 2 crore vaccinations a day, momentum here to stay: RS Sharma

RS Sharma, who heads the committee for India's Covid-19 vaccine delivery tech platform Co-WIN, said India is on track to inoculate its adult population by the end of the year, and that the platform can be repurposed for all kinds of vaccination in India.

CoWin chief RS Sharma on India setting new vaccination world record

The first day of the government's new COVID-19 vaccination policy was a resounding success, as more than 80 lakh jabs were administered in India on June 21, almost double the country’s earlier highest mark of 43 lakh daily vaccinations in early April. This is the highest single-day vaccination number in the world, and India has nearly vaccinated the population of Israel or twice the population of New Zealand in a single day. Moneycontrol spoke to RS Sharma, the CEO of the National Health Authority and the Co-Win platform on whether India is on track to vaccinate its entire adult population by the end of the year

Alleged data breach affecting 150 million Indians on Co-WIN is baseless: RS Sharma

We continue to take appropriate steps as are necessary, from time to time, to ensure that the data of the people are safe with Co-WIN, RS Sharma has said on data breach incident.

You now have to enter a Captcha while booking your vaccination

The move aims to prevent techies from cornering vaccine slots, but has made the booking process cumbersome

Over 79 lakh vaccine registrations on April 28, mostly of 18-44 age group: CoWIN chief RS Sharma

The CoWIN platform witnessed a traffic of 55,000 hits per second, Sharma said, adding that the system is "functioning as expected".

COVID-19 vaccination | Aadhaar-based facial recognition to be used soon for authentication of beneficiaries

At present, the vaccine beneficiaries are required to touch the scanner for iris-based authentication and also submit their fingerprints.

Interview | Co-WIN app is scalable, vaccinations can go up to 1 crore a day: RS Sharma

RS Sharma, who heads the committee for India's COVID-19 vaccine delivery tech platform Co-WIN, weighs in on the app’s initial tech glitches, lessons in scale from Aadhaar, and how India can expand vaccinations to cover 1 crore people a day.

COVID-19 vaccination | No glitch in CoWIN from the start: RS Sharma

RS Sharma calrified that the registration for COVID-19 vaccination is taking place only through Aarogya Setu app and Co-WIN’s portal cowin.gov.in.

Work-from-home, online learning fuelling need for massive investment in digital infra: Trai chief R S Sharma

Deployment of innovative and contact-free services across verticals in post-pandemic era will increase demand for digital infrastructure, Sharma said noting that COVID-19 has made digitisation a "necessity rather than a choice".

Always ensured choice lies with the consumer, argues TRAI chief RS Sharma

TRAI chief RS Sharma said, the regulator has always tried to ensure that the choice always lies in the hands of the consumer.

Unleash market forces to realise full potential of satellite communication: TRAI chief

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) Chairman RS Sharma rued that cost of data in India delivered via satellite technology was 400 times higher than that in the US, presenting a stark contrast to telecom and mobile services domain where India is offering one of the cheapest tariffs in the world.

Trai vows action against cable TV, DTH cos violating new norms

The watchdog also promised to shortly begin "audit" of subscriber management and other IT systems of errant operators.

TV viewers may soon be able to switch service providers without changing set top box

Sharma added that interoperability in a product should not come as an "after thought" but should be in place at the product planning stage itself.

Stand by spectrum pricing, industry decides tariff: Trai Chairman

Trai Chairman R S Sharma said that the regulator, however, has recommended various measures to lower levies on the sector to help improve the financial health of stressed operators.

Trai to decide on rules for Internet calling, messaging firms soon

'We already have a paper on OTT (over-the-top). We will come out with appropriate recommendations and regulations in near future. Couple of months from now,' Sharma told PTI at the Mobile World Congress 2019 here.

New broadcast pricing regime: 50% subscribers haven't selected TV channels yet

Subscribers yet to choose their channels may get transferred to a basic free-to-air pack which has 100 standard-definition channels for Rs 130 per month.

TRAI not into PR role, follows consultative process in framing rules: R S Sharma on detractors

In his first interview after winning a second term at the helm of TRAI, Sharma said legal options are available for anyone not happy with a particular regulation of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).