TRAI mulls single pan-India emergency number

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is considering of setting up a single number for emergencies services such as the police, fire and ambulance throughout India. This is much on the lines of the 911 in the U.S., 999 in the U.K. and 000 in Australia.

''Emergency is any sudden unforeseen crisis (usually involving danger to life or property) that requires immediate response and help by the concerned agencies such as police, fire brigade, ambulance among others,'' TRAI, which has rolled out a consultancy paper, seeking industry comments said.

''In order to provide quick and timely intervention by these agencies, there should be a communication network in place which facilitates the people in distress to access these agencies from anywhere, at anytime and get a proper and immediate response,'' it added.

At present, there are separate numbers for different emergency services for emergency communication and response systems such as 100 for Police, 101 for Fire, 102 for ambulance and 108 for emergency disaster management).

Certain states have separate numbers for woman in distress (181-Delhi), missing children and women (1094-Delhi), crime against women (1096-Delhi), anti-extortion (1097-Delhi) and police headquarter helpline (1090-Uttar Pradesh) among others.

According to TRAI, the existence of the different numbers causes confusion. 

Rolling out the consultation paper – 'Universal Single Number Based Integrated Emergency Communication and Response System (IECRS)' - TRAI has sought comments on making either 100 or 108 as the single number for the entire country.

''In India, number 100 which is reserved for calling police services is very popular. This makes 100 a suitable candidate for the choice of single number for IECRS,'' Trai said.

However, 108 emergency service managed by EMRI (Emergency Management and Research Institute) across more than ten states is becoming popular as an emergency response system, Trai added. Trai has also sought comments if there should be primary or secondary access numbers defined for IECRS in the country on the lines of other countries.

The authority has sought comments by April 5, 2013.