Panic button must for all mobiles from 2017

As per an official notification from the Indian government dated April 22, all phones sold in the country from the year 2017 need to have a provision for a panic key that would enable users to intimate about emergency situations. The measure, aimed at women safety, will also see a provision for installation of a GPS navigation system from January 1, 2018, to track the location of the person in crisis with accuracy.

"Technology is solely meant to make human life better and what better than using it for the security of women... from January 1, 2017, no cell phone can be sold without a provision for a panic button and from January 1, 2018, mobile sets should have also GPS in-built," telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said.

The Panic button and Global Positioning System facility in all mobile phone handsets Rules, 2016, notified by the Department of Telecommunications, are aimed at improving the safety of women and ensuring a quick response from security agencies. It reads as- "With effect from January 1, 2017, no mobile phone handset company shall sell in India... feature phones without the facility of panic button by pressing 'Numeric key - 5' or 'Numeric key - 9' to invoke emergency call."

The notification also added that no smartphone should be sold in India without the facility of the emergency call button. This button, on being pressed for a long time should invoke an emergency call, or the use of existing power button, when short pressed thrice in quick succession.

Once the panic button is pressed, a signal/call will be made to the nearest security agency. However, the details of how the system will work are yet to be finalised.

Though many Rights activists have welcomed the move, there are others like JasmeenPatheja, founder of Blank Noise who feels that a panic button is not a solution because it sits within a "protectionist" attitude.