Tinker Tailor Sprinklr Why?

Kerala government’s tie-up with an IT startup for pandemic management raises privacy concerns

- Siddharth Premkumar

OVER the past week, the Kerala government has had to put out fires caused by Sprinklr. The cloud-based app “donated” to the state from March to September to augment its COVID-19 response helps with the collation and analysis of select data pertaining to pandemic management, including sensitive medical information on those at risk and under surveillance. But its terms of use, opposition parties contend, leaves the state vulnerable to leaks. Even as the LDF government claimed transparency by releasing a tranche of documents related to the Sprinklr collaboration, the Opposition has attempted to corner it by alleging a “huge data scam” to the tune of Rs 700 crore.

M. Sivasankar, the principal secretary of the IT department and CM Pinarayi Vijayan’s private secretary, says, “I exercised my discretionary powers to enter into an agreement after examining it in minutiae. Among the various stakeholders, there was a consensus that a robust technology platform was the need of the hour. It was my decision to choose Sprinklr and I will rectify any error that is a result of my decision.” He adds that the law department’s permission was not required for the purchase order. Sivasankar did not disclose whether the CM, who also holds the IT portfolio, was aware of the details of the deal. Opposition parties, however, claim he possessed no such discretionary power. They allege that he is being made a ‘fall guy’ to shield the government, and the CM in particular, from further criticism.