Similar to the 911 all-in-one emergency service in the US, India will soon launch a single number 112 for people to reach the police, ambulance services and the fire department. All existing emergency numbers will eventually be phased out, depending on the awareness of the new number.
The proposal for the new one-number-for-all has been approved by the inter-ministerial panel of Telecom Commission.
“Telecom Commission has accepted TRAI‘s recommendation on single emergency number 112. It will now be drafted by the Department of Telecom and will require Telecom Minister’s (Ravi Shankar Prasad) approval. It will be rolled out within months rather than a year,” an official source told the Press Trust of India (PTI).
Once a person in distress calls 112 she/he will immediately be transferred to the concerned department for help. The service can also be accessed via SIMs and landlines whose outgoing calls are barred or temporarily suspended.
Additionally, a person can also communicate with the emergency service through SMS and the system will trace the caller’s location. The service will be operated by a call centre which will have representatives speaking in English and all regional languages.
States with special helpline services (like the ‘women in distress’ facility) have also been informed about the emergency service number’s availability.
