KOCHI: Now, weather alerts on thunderstorms to hailstorms in Kerala will be available on your phone, thanks to Qkopy, a social networking app.The Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) has got on board the Qkopy mobile app to provide the public instant weather alerts, in perhaps the first-of-its-kind initiative from the government body. All it requires is the smartphone users should save the KSDMA mobile number 9446568222 on their phones and install the Qkopy mobile app from Play Store/App Store or from Qkopy app.
The application will provide alerts and updates on extreme weather conditions to over a million people who have saved the KSDMA mobile number on their handsets.The UL Cyberpark, Kozhikode-based Qkopy had made news by providing nipa alerts following a tie-up with Health Department.Arun Perooli, Qkopy’s founder-CEO, said the app has already been downloaded over 30,000 times. “The app helps the users to get information even while ensuring their privacy. Normally at shopping malls and other shops, you need to part with your phone number to get information on various offers. In this case, you need to save the number of the shop or the malls to get the same information,” he said.
Qkopy is in talks with schools and establishments for providing similar services. “If a school has signed up with us, the parents of kids enrolled there will get relevant information from the school,” Perooli said. On the startup’s likely source of revenue, Arun said once the user base crosses one lakh, they could charge customers for providing the information via the app, and thus earn money. “Right now our focus is on increasing our user base,” he said.
Major tie-ups
Kerala State Police Department, Kozhikode City Traffic Police
Kerala State Disaster Management Authority
Kerala Startup Mission
Information Communication Technology Academy of Kerala
National Health Mission
Future Kerala Business New’s & Business Magazine
Information Communication Technology Academy of Kerala TechnoPark Trivandrum
UL Cyber Park (Kozhikode)