A universal number for any emergency situation, much like the 911 in the US, may soon become a reality in India. The union home ministry plans to put in place an Emergency Response System that will be a one-point stop to tackle any emergency situation in any part of the country.
The US, Europe, the UK, Australia and New Zealand have an integrated emergency communication and response system that can be accessed through a universal number. In India, residents have to dial multiple numbers depending on the distress situation. For instance, one has to dial 100 to reach the police to report a burglary, or dial 102 to call for an ambulance in the event of a medical emergency.
Calls made to these emergency numbers go to pre-determined centers, which are manned by departments concerned i.e. police (100), health (102), fire brigade (101) and so on. A caller has to provide his/her location details and explain the nature of the emergency when calling. This can be a time-consuming process and carries the risk of miscommunication as a distressed caller may forget to provide pertinent location details, resulting in loss of critical time in responding.
The home ministry’s plan for a pan-India Emergency Response System will automatically trace the location of a distressed caller, which is critical in emergencies, especially during large-scale disasters like the recent Uttarakhand floods. All agencies involved in relief and rescue operations will be part of the system.
Last month, the then union home secretary RK Singh held a meeting with officials from the department of telecom and senior officers of intelligence agencies, including the Intelligence Bureau and the Research and Analysis Wing, to chalk out the strategy for the project. The telecom department was directed to ask all telecom service providers to make arrangements to implement the project as part of a mandate under the licence agreement. It will be the telecom companies’ responsibility to provide the location of the caller. The plan will be implemented in phases; cities with five lakh plus population will be covered in the first phase.
On dialing the emergency number, the call will be routed to a Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP), a kind of a call centre. Trained personnel there will seek specific information from the caller, and based on the requirement, the PSAP will take the emergency call further, to alert the nearest local emergency responding agency.
The US, Europe, the UK, Australia and New Zealand have an integrated emergency communication and response system that can be accessed through a universal number. In India, residents have to dial multiple numbers depending on the distress situation. For instance, one has to dial 100 to reach the police to report a burglary, or dial 102 to call for an ambulance in the event of a medical emergency.
Calls made to these emergency numbers go to pre-determined centers, which are manned by departments concerned i.e. police (100), health (102), fire brigade (101) and so on. A caller has to provide his/her location details and explain the nature of the emergency when calling. This can be a time-consuming process and carries the risk of miscommunication as a distressed caller may forget to provide pertinent location details, resulting in loss of critical time in responding.
The home ministry’s plan for a pan-India Emergency Response System will automatically trace the location of a distressed caller, which is critical in emergencies, especially during large-scale disasters like the recent Uttarakhand floods. All agencies involved in relief and rescue operations will be part of the system.
Last month, the then union home secretary RK Singh held a meeting with officials from the department of telecom and senior officers of intelligence agencies, including the Intelligence Bureau and the Research and Analysis Wing, to chalk out the strategy for the project. The telecom department was directed to ask all telecom service providers to make arrangements to implement the project as part of a mandate under the licence agreement. It will be the telecom companies’ responsibility to provide the location of the caller. The plan will be implemented in phases; cities with five lakh plus population will be covered in the first phase.
On dialing the emergency number, the call will be routed to a Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP), a kind of a call centre. Trained personnel there will seek specific information from the caller, and based on the requirement, the PSAP will take the emergency call further, to alert the nearest local emergency responding agency.
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