New May 31 (IANS): HP India in collaboration with the Jubilant Bhartia Foundation (JBF) have launched a national toll-free number to ease registration on the government Co-WIN portal for Covid-19 vaccination.

The service will help people who have restricted or no access to smartphones or the internet and are dependent on others to register on their behalf.

With a multi-lingual helpdesk, assistance will be initially available in four languages -- Hindi, English, Telugu, Tamil and Kannada. More regional languages will be added soon.

With a sizeable population of India having restricted access to smartphones and internet connectivity, misinformation and lack of resources are preventing many people from getting vaccinated.

The government had recently announced the third phase of the vaccination drive, catering to the 18-44 age group.

Approximately 59 crore Indians belong to this age bracket.

Walk-in registrations for this segment have been allowed by the government for a limited number of registrations daily at the government Covid vaccination centre (CVC).

However, the severity of spread of Covid-19 increases the risk of people getting infected at these often-crowded centres.

Through just a call at this national toll-free number, people can get themselves registered on the portal from the safety of their homes, a statement from HP said.

"The second wave of the pandemic has taken a huge toll on the community at large. This initiative will help many people, especially those who do not have easy internet access or digital skills, to register themselves on Co-WIN and eventually get vaccinated. Our aim is to help millions of such people across the country, secure the government mandated registration on the Co-WIN portal in the easiest possible way," said Ketan Patel, MD, HP India Market.

"We believe, the national toll-free number initiative by HP India and JBF will act as a catalyst in extending the reach of the vaccination program and will help the masses to access the program without the challenges of lack of access to technology," said Rajesh Srivastava, MD & CEO, Jubilant Ingrevia limited & Director, Director, Jubilant Bhartia Foundation.

This initiative is part of HP's global commitment to fight Covid-19.

Last year, it teamed-up with Redington 3D in India to produce 1.2 lakh ventilator parts for AgVa Healthcare that helped manufacturing of 10,000 low cost ventilators.