- The Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh launched Emergency Response Support System (ERSS) for Himachal Pradesh at Mandi on November 28, 2018.
- Himachal Pradesh is the first state to launch pan-India single emergency number ‘112’ under ERSS.
- He appealed residents of State of Himachal Pradesh to download ‘112 India’ mobile app available in App store of Google & Apple. Citing the success of Himachal Pradesh in rolling out the ERSS project, he requested other States and Union Territories to make all out efforts to commence rollout of their ERSS project.
- This event marks the beginning of commencement of a single number based 112 emergency services which will connect to Police, Fire, Health and other helplines through an Emergency Response Centre in the State. This service obviates the need for citizens to remember multiple helpline numbers.
- Under this project, one Emergency Response Centre (ERC) has been established in Shimla along with 12 District Command Centers (DCCs) covering entire State. Emergency Response Centre has been integrated with Police (100), Fire (101), Health (108) and Women helpline (1090) Services to provide emergency services via single emergency number – 112.
- The service also includes a ‘112 India’ mobile app integrated with Panic Button of smartphones and ERSS State website for ease of citizen in availing immediate assistance.
- To increase the effectiveness of Emergency Response, the ERC has also been integrated with Location Based Services provided by Telecom Service Providers.
- To ensure safety of women, a SHOUT feature has been introduced in ‘112 India’ mobile app to seek immediate assistance from registered volunteers in the vicinity apart from the immediate assistance from Emergency Response Centre. The SHOUT feature is exclusively available to women.
- The ‘112 India’ mobile app will be subsequently rolled out in all States & Union Territories to help people across the country access the unified emergency services. Central Government has allocated ₹321.69 Crore under Nirbhaya Fund for implementation of ERSS project across the country.
