The Department of Telecommunications has released a notification which has mentioned that all mobile phones that are sold in India from January 2017, will have to mandatorily feature a ‘panic button’. The feature will be useful for women to seek help when in distress.
From January 2018, all the mobile phones will have to have inbuilt GPS so that the location of the users using the handset can be identified. Communications and IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said, “Technology is solely meant to make human life better and what better than using it for the security of women”.
The minister announced that from January 1, 2017 no cell phones will be sold in India without the panic button. The numeric keys 5 and 9 have been identified as push buttons for an emergency. For the smartphones the handset manufacturers will have to provide an ‘emergency’ button or a facility that will send an alert by short pressing the power button thrice.
The government has opined that the emergency response apps can take too long to have be accessed while in rush so one of the existing buttons for the task will be simpler and quicker. The new measure is a part of Modi government to ensure the safety of women.
Photo Credits:newindianexpress
