'112' to soon become single number for all emergency services
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India has decided to adopt `112’ as the national emergency number, similar to `911’ in the US and `999` in the UK, with the inter-ministerial telecom commission giving a go-ahead to the move.
The roll-out of `112’ may see a gradual phase-out of existing emergency numbers like 100 (for police), 101 (fire), 102 (ambulance) and 108 (disaster management), though they will continue to be in operation for at least a year.
The idea of having a single number for all kinds of emergencies has been in the works for a long time and would require the active participation and enabling provisions from states to make it a success. Telecom regulator Trai had suggested the adoption of 112 as the national emergency number in its recommendations submitted to the telecom department in April last year. It had suggested the inclusion of a host of services, beginning with calls meant for police, fire, ambulance, helpline for women, senior citizens and children initially. Other services may be integrated gradually and in a phased manner.
To make the service successful and highly efficient, calls to the emergency number will be prioritized in mobile networks while SMS-based access will also be permitted.
Importantly, the location information and details of the caller will need to be made available to the agencies taking the emergency calls so that swift help can be provided. “The states will need to set up call centers that would also cater to the local languages spoken in their respective region,” an official source said.
Analysts say that implementation of the measure can be a challenge as many of the areas, especially policing, is a state subject. Also, putting in place an adequate infrastructure -like ambulances and requisite number of police personnel -to deal with emergency situations at a quick pace, can be an infrastructure nightmare.
The number 112 was chosen due to a variety of reasons. 100, which is one of the widely known numbers for emergency , was not recommended as it is associated with police and several sections of society, especially women and children, may not wish to dial it. GSM phones have in-built recognition of emergency numbers 112 and 911. Emergency calling encompasses calling even in cases where the phone is locked with a password; or where there is no balance amount left.
Q&A: Everything you need to know about ‘112’, India’s new single number for emergency services
Just like ‘911’ in the US, Indians too will soon be able to dial a single number in emergency situations and avail the services of police, ambulance, or the fire department. The Telecom Commission has accepted TRAI’s recommendation of making ‘112’ as the official all-in-one emergency number in the country and phasing out all the existing emergency numbers within a year of roll out. 1. What is an emergency number?
An emergency number is to help citizens connect to the most important services in any city – be it health, crime, or calamity. Instead of wasting time in asking people for help during crucial conditions, an all-in-one emergency number helps gain those precious minutes following an accident, or save lives if a building catches fire, or even in cases of thefts.
2. How many emergency numbers currently exist in India?
At present, there are different emergency numbers for different purposes in India including- police ‘100’, fire brigade ‘101’, ambulance ‘102’, and Emergency Disaster Management ‘108’. There are also some state-specific helpline numbers for providing assistance to special categories of citizens like Woman in distress – ’181 (Delhi), Missing Children and
Women – 1094 (Delhi), Crime Against Women – 1096 (Delhi), Police Headquarter helpline – 1090 (Uttar Pradesh) etc.
3. What will a single all-in-one emergency number mean?
When ‘112’ is rolled out in the coming months, it would help citizens raise an alarm about distressing situations in a very convenient manner and also make authorities respond promptly. For example, for people like the elderly, a single number would connect them to both the police or the ambulance in unexpected situations. This will also help the senior citizens avoid the pain of remembering multiple numbers respond to untoward incidents in a timely manner.
4. How will the new emergency number work?
All that one needs to do is call ‘112’ and the representative will direct you to the concerned department immediately for help. ‘112’ can be dialled from both mobile phones and landlines. The service will also be made accessible to those SIMs or landlines whose outgoing call facility has been barred or temporarily suspended. Users will also be able to make communication through SMS and the responding system will detect location of the caller and share it with the nearest help center. The service will be operated in call center-like facility and representatives will be able to provide support in Hindi, English, and other local languages.
5. What will happen to the existing emergency numbers?
All the existing emergency numbers, including the state-specific ones will be phased out within a year of implementing the new ‘112’ number. This will be done based on the awareness about the new number.
6. When will the government implement the new emergency number?
Unlike the earlier estimated time of one year, the new number will be rolled out within months.
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"@hoom kc":http://www.desidime.com/users/250211 wrote:Why not 911, most of the people are already aware about this number…Easy to remember I guess…
Good move by the away….VU for the info
The reason being, every 11 call made only 2 will be addressed hence 112
“@CrazyTroll ":http://www.desidime.com/users/...34 wrote:"@hoom kc":http://www.desidime.com/users/250211 wrote:Why not 911, most of the people are already aware about this number…Easy to remember I guess…
Good move by the away….VU for the infoThe reason being, every 11 call made only 2 will be addressed hence 112
Ha ha
Looks like this time most network contracts, switches, hubs and all may go to European bidders.
so Ericsson
might fare better 
than those Americans (Cisco)
Babudom here seems to be mirroring the Europeans and specifically the Swedes.
My Ericsson T-10 did 
thank you @Parth bhai for sharing this !
@hoom kc wrote:
Why not 911, most of the people are already aware about this number…Easy to remember I guess…
Good move by the away….VU for the info
matter of perspective really.
you know India just moved away from our 1600 convention to 1-800 numbers for call collect services.
its like your mind is conditioned for one thing and so finds it simpler. its like saying that people, places do not change their names to something that is not as widespread.
American celluloid may be influencing us a lot, otherwise in European countries 112 works a lot.
.
.
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incidentally, if it is any consolation to you: the way the available network reacts to the Emergency number of the handset or its own backbone switches/hubs is not really dictated by official policy alone.
a few years back, a friend of ours had bought this shiny new Sony Ericsson Z610 or maybe it was 510. [been over 7-8 years]
amidst his ragging that clamshell form factor was for girls, some of us started fiddling with the phone.
Mind you, it was just unpacked in front of us and no SIM or anything else except the battery was installed.
once past the service menu (we knew the codes), I just dialled 911 just to check the ear-piece.
to my surprise : some operator permitted the call to be connected as an emergency call with the ringing sound which i assumed to be some dummy recording.
this time my surprise turned to scare when the vernacular voice at the end said something to the effect that this is Officer ABC from Police Control room, how may I help you.
Yes !!! the call had actually been patched by the network to the known emergency number in the record (of the operator).
@hoom kc I have no reason to fib to an unknown entity like you in virtual space, so trust me.
In suburban Bombay in 2007 or 2008, from a Z510 or 610, a 911 call with no subscriber identifier chip in the sim slot DID get patched by some random network to the actual emergency number 100.
I did not try it from the same handset but have always known that 112 or 911 are attempted to be patched to emergency services by most handsets/ networks even if the valid SIM is not present. often the network disallows for its own reasons.
but you can experiment with 112 or 911 calls if you have any handsets whose firmware recognises it as Emergency numbers. Try dialling without a SIM too, if you in some big city with 4-5 operators.
@Spock I still remember getting the same shock way back in 2001 when, out of sheer curiosity, I called 112, or rather chose to use the emergency/SOS option on my Nokia handset one late night. This was the phone: http://www.desidime.com/forums/dost-and-dimes/t...
Yes, I also got connected to the local police control room. Out of fear and shock, I couldn’t utter a single word but simply hung up a few seconds after hearing that guy’s voice. 
P.S. Was using BSNL (CellOne).
@DealSeeker wrote:
@Spock I still remember getting the same shock way back in 2001 when, out of sheer curiosity, I called 112, or rather chose to use the emergency/SOS option on my Nokia handset one late night. This was the phone: http://www.desidime.com/forums/dost-and-dimes/t...
Yes, I also got connected to the local police control room. Out of fear and shock, I couldn’t utter a single word but simply hung up a few seconds after hearing that guy’s voice.
P.S. Was using BSNL (CellOne).
lol
thanks for confirming that mate. i was just too embarrassed to speak up of my own experience with the exact same way of ending the call.
so it is known now, 112/911 anyway still connect to 100 at-least on most networks that respect the sanctity of an ‘emergency’ number.
@DS http://www.desidime.com/reputation_activity/rep... oh god! when did i recently add rep to you bhai.
ab daantna mat agar fir naam bhul gaya huin tou 
just assume the one without name as mine. (i mean if it is obvious that it is from me. please do not assume any abusive or terse anony ones from me ! 
)
India’s single emergency number ‘112’ to be active from January 1
A person in distress will need to call only 112, which will direct the call to concerned departments immediately for help.
The single emergency number ‘112’ will be operational throughout India from January 1 to help people reach immediate services of police, ambulance and fire department.
“Single emergency number ‘112’ will be operational from January 1,” a senior government official told PTI.
Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has approved the provision of a single number for various emergency services that would be similar to the ‘911’ all-in-one emergency service in the US.
The service will also be accessible even through those SIMs and landlines whose outgoing call facility has been stopped or temporarily suspended.
A person in distress will need to call only 112, which will direct the call to concerned departments immediately for help.
All existing emergency numbers will be phased out within a year of rolling out 112, depending upon the awareness about this new facility.
In India, different emergency communication and response systems are in place – police (100), fire brigade (101), ambulance (102) and Emergency Disaster Management (108).
“Telecom operators have been asked to direct all emergency calls to 112. The process to direct calls made on to 112 to concerned departments is being worked out,” the official said.A user will be able to make communication even through SMS and the system will learn about the location of the caller that will be shared with the nearest help centre.
People will be able to feed ‘112’ in panic button system which will also be available on all mobile phones from January 1 under law.
The panic button will enable users to make emergency call or send alerts to multiple numbers just by pressing a button.
Besides, in-built GPS navigation system would be mandatory for all phones a year later with effect from January 1, 2018.
The emergency service calls will also be supported through a call centre like facility, which will have representatives speaking in Hindi, English and the local language.
“At present, there are call centres which handle emergency number calls. They will be asked to handle calls on 112 as well. Besides, requirement of additional capacity is being worked out which will be in place by January 1,” the official said
Why not 911, most of the people are already aware about this number…Easy to remember I guess…
Good move by the away….VU for the info