New Delhi, Aug 19 (IANS): As India celebrated its 74th Independence Day, ApnaMask, a non-profit initiative and volunteer group by StartupsVsCovid, rolled out a campaign "I am a Corona Soldier".

The campaign aims to recruit a robust force of ‘Corona Soldiers' who can protect the country against coronavirus with a very simple and light-weight weapon -- a mask. The Corona soldiers will commit to wearing a mask every time they step out and will encourage others to do the same.

‘I am Corona Soldier' campaign collaborates with Army veterans Lt. Col. MK Sinha (Retd), a Kargil war hero, and Major Gaurav Arya (Retd), who are calling upon people to become corona soldiers by wearing a mask.

The campaign plays out on the website where people can register and become a ‘Corona Soldier'. Equipped with a simple mask, ‘Corona Soldiers' can take the responsibility to spread the message and recruit more ‘Corona Soldiers' by inviting them to join the force through social media.

The campaign that went live on August 15 has already recruited Olympic medallist Mary Kom, badminton star Saina Nehwal, wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt, as well as actors Bipasha Basu, Mouni Roy, Diana Penty, Keerthi Suresh and many more.

The campaign has been conceptualised on the basis of the findings of a recent study by ApnaMask.org that examined the awareness of preventive guidelines among Indians as well as their motivation behind compliance.

The findings revealed that while awareness about masks and practicing social distancing is quiet high among Indians, compliances for the same is as low as 44 per cent. Inconvenience is the primary reason for the drop in compliance.

#ApnaDeshApnaMask supports the government's mission to spread awareness around the importance of wearing a homemade mask and maintaining hygiene.

The campaign is building awareness and educating 1.3 billion people to adopt the trend of making masks at home and wearing them, every time they step outside.