Why India adopted 112 as its universal emergency number?

Recently, the Supreme Court of India directed all States and Union Territories to complete the technical and operational integration of all emergency helpline numbers into the 112 helpline within three months.

About ‘112’ Emergency Number

The 112 – Nationwide Emergency Response System (NERS) was launched by the Government of India in 2019 as a single emergency number, similar to 911 in the United States.

The system was designed to integrate multiple emergency helplines, including 100 (Police), 101 (Fire), 102 (Emergency Medical Services), 108 (Ambulance), 1033 (Highway Emergency), 181 (Women Helpline), 1098 (Child Helpline), and 1091 (Women in Distress) into one common emergency number.

As per recent submissions before the Supreme Court, only Delhi, Kerala, Gujarat, Haryana, and Lakshadweep have fully integrated all emergency helplines into the 112 NERS.

The 112 emergency number is also used across European Union member states and several other countries.

The number 112 was first recommended in 1976 by the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT) as a common emergency number.

It was selected because it was quick to dial on rotary telephones, could be dialled even when the dial lock prevented access to higher numbers, and reduced accidental calls by using three different digits instead of repeated numbers.

In India, the decision to establish a unified emergency response system was based on the recommendations of the Justice J. S. Verma Committee, constituted after the 2012 Delhi gangrape case.

The Committee recommended creating a public emergency response system capable of dispatching emergency services through a single access number.

Following these recommendations, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) allocated 112 as the national emergency number, and the Union Ministry of Home Affairs launched the NERS across India on 19 February 2019 with financial support from the Nirbhaya Fund.

The 112 India mobile application and ERSS platform provide citizens with a one-stop solution for accessing police, fire, ambulance, women and child safety, and other emergency services through a single integrated system.

Source: IE

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