Union Minister Maneka Gandhi has brought mobile makers onboard to add the button for women's safety.
Mobile phones will have panic buttons preinstalled on them from March 2016. According to reports, Union Minister, Maneka Gandhi, has been able to get mobile phone makers onboard, making the feature mandatory from next year. The regulations for the same will be issued by the Department of Telecommunications, Gandhi told the Press Trust of India (PTI). The initiative has been taken to address women’s security issues in the country and OEMs have reached a consensus on adding the feature. Both new and old smartphones will be able to install the feature.
Gandhi said that it took the government a full year to finalise the feature, but after several meetings and mobile manufacturers, they have finally agreed on providing the panic button on devices. Pressing the button will immediately call the police, said Gandhi. Customers will reportedly be able to upgrade their existing devices with this feature from next year, while new phones will come with preinstalled buttons for the same. The government has reportedly asked companies to build at least 10,000 centres across India in order to facilitate the above mentioned upgrades.
Further, a National Women Helpline number will also be launched, which is going to be common all around the country. The number will be used to provide help to women in distress and will be integrated into One-Stop Centres, which will be able to provide legal, police and medical support, along with counselling for women who have been victims of violence.
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