Incase of Emergency it will now be ‘112’

News

• The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has recommended implementation of the toll-free number as a single point of contact for assistance in a major emergency.
• The new helpline should be an integration of all existing emergency numbers in India such as 100, 101, 102 and 108, the regulator says.
• The TRAI suggested the existing helplines can be retained as secondary numbers and if a call is made to any of these numbers, it should be directed to 112.

Advantage

• The mechanism looks simple: a caller dials the emergency response system (ERS), a software interprets the call, chooses the appropriate response and dispatch, for instance, police for a woman in distress or an ambulance for an accident.
• The emergency response centres will function under the police commissioners in major cities and district magistrates in other urban hubs.