Women's safety: Modi government asks phone makers to add panic button on handsets

NEW DELHI: In its quest to ensure women's safety, the Narendra Modi government has

 told mobile phone manufacturers they need to incorporate a panic button on handsets

 sold in the country. The administration is of the view that emergency response apps can

 take too long to access in a rush— configuring one of the existing buttons on a phone

 for the task would be much simpler and quicker. Women and child development 

ministerManeka Gandhi told ET that handset makers were amenable to the suggestion. 

"The first round of talks has been done and I have been told that they (manufacturers) 

have agreed in principle," she said.

To make it child-proof or prevent accidental operation, the button will require a long

 press or a double press.

The action will send an SMS to a set of numbers that will also provide location information.

With Modi pushing for the change, the ministries of communications and women

 and child development have been working in tandem on the proposal.

A meeting involving all stakeholders, including handset makers, was held two weeks ago

 to thrash out initial details. The meeting was attended by secretaries of the two 

ministries and representatives of about a dozen mobile manufacturing companies, 

both local and foreign. Another meeting is scheduled to be held this month by ministry

 officials with the design and technical wings of the mobile companies.

"Initially, there was resistance on a couple of issues, namely on the expenditure to be 

incurred and the design of the handsets," said a senior ministry official who didn't want 

to be named. "The move was also resisted on the ground that there are apps available in 

the market for the same. The manufacturers were told that pressing a button which will be

 on the body of the phone is much easier and time saving than accessing an app in 

a moment of trouble."

Though there was "initial resistance" from a few of the companies, they later agreed in

 principle to the demand, officials told ET. Rather than going to the police, the SMS

 will be sent to a 'panic response team' chosen by each user.

"Keeping in view various constraints including the understaffed police department,

 it was thought prudent to send the alerts to family than police," the official said.

 "An overwhelming view of the manufacturers was that the facility can be provided 

even in basic phones."

Hari Om Rai, co-founder of handset maker Lava International, said the company didn't

see any problem with the implementing the change. "I have not applied my mind yet as 

it is a product-level job," he said. "But I am sure if desired it can be easily done without 

any difficulty." Company product head Naveen Chawla added, "Everybody agreed that

 the issue merits serious concern. Agreeing in principle, the companies have gone back,

 only to return with the technology vide which the panic button can be made available on

 all phones."

The initiative was kicked off with Gandhi writing to communications minister 

Ravi Shankar Prasad urging the latter to convene a meeting of handset manufacturers 

in this regard.

"Hon'ble Prime Minister had recently mentioned that it is desirable to have a 

'panic button' on all mobile phone handsets so that a women user can access

 help in times of distress," she said in her letter, which ET has seen. "I understand

 that there are a number of apps available for this purpose but in a situation of distress, 

particularly in situations where women are facing acts of violence, it is not possible to

launch an app and access help." She said the solution lay in a button that can be 

operated without having to first unlock the phone.

"I further feel that different countries/societies/users will have different reasons for 

having this panic button but in the Indian context it is important for the purpose of 

women's safety," she wrote.

Gandhi urged "early action" in her letter and the first meeting was held less than a 

fortnight later. The minister said that her ministry had received several suggestions

 from various quarters on the matter, including special finger rings, bracelets and 

necklaces that could be used by women to send SOS messages.

While it appears that the mobile phone makers have been won over by gentle persuasion, 

one official pointed out that the government has the wherewithal to make the measure 

compulsory. "If the need arises, the provision to make it mandatory for mobile companies

 is available with the government," said a senior official.

ET View: 

Ensure last-mile connectivity

Having a single-touch emergency system is a muchneeded, great idea. But as with 

every great technologydriven public utility system, a 'panic button' is as good as

 its last-mile connectivity. What will make this more than a '100' number is not just

 its single-step procedure but also the GPS-enabled system bringing the nearest

 lawenforcers to the location without the usual layers of human participation. Which 

means the right people will have to respond swiftly and correctly to the panic beacon. 

Which, in turn, means training police personnel to respond to the system accordingly.

 Source : http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/