The state of India's emergency helpline services: Things will improve soon

It recently came to light that certain shopkeepers in UP are selling women’s phone numbers to anyone who asks. These women are being subjected to harassing calls over the phone, some are even receiving lewd messages on services like WhatsApp.

The women had little recourse but to contact the local police helpline to register complaints. In UP, this number is 1090. The situation is so bad that the UP police have set up a dedicated task force for handling these cases, reads a report in The Hindustan Times.

This case brings to light the need for reliable, well-maintained helplines in India.

Too many numbers

On paper, India does have something like this. There are a number of helpline services to choose from in India, but the number that needs to be called isn’t always clear. For example, the police helpline is 100 but the traffic police helpline is 103. Even the helpline numbers for ambulance services are a bit ambiguous; 102 gets you an ambulance but 104 might also do the same, but it depends on the state that you live in.

This state of confusion won’t last. However last year, Trai announced that it was recommending 112 as India’s national helpline number. This number will act as a hub for all emergency services in the country and Trai recommends that existing helpline numbers simply be rerouted to 112.

Trai’s recommendations should come into effect in March this year.

112: A global standard

On a side note, 112 is actually the GSM standard for an emergency number. It’s also the emergency helpline number in most of the EU and other countries around the globe. In fact, any mobile device, if it’s connected to a GSM network, will be able to dial 112 even if there’s no active mobile connection.

In countries like the US and Australia (which use 911 and 000 as emergency helpline numbers), calls to 112 are forwarded to 911 or 000 as required.

There have been complaints that India’s helpline numbers are too diverse and scattered and that none of the services talk to each other. Some have complained that they get shoved from department to department till their issue is resolved.

Others point out that there’s no way to collect location data from the caller at the moment. Western telcos have also struggled to implement location tracking into their devices. In fact, the latest E112 standard for 112 emergency services in the EU require location data to be collected. The complex nature of its implementation means that it’s still not widely accepted. America’s 911 faces the same challenges.

Trai recommendations

As a part of the announcement, Trai recommended that a database of all callers and related location information needs to be stored in four centralized data servers in 4 parts of India (the metros).

Telcos have been urged to share this information with BSNL, which has been tasked with handling this confidential information. Trai also recommends that BSNL take over management services and that infrastructure for the same be provided to them.

Another recommendation suggested by Trai indicates that emergency vehicles should have onboard sensors that track GPS position, maps that track nearby resources, etc. This is meant to ensure a fast response so vehicles can have all the relevant information at their fingertips.

There are also a number of websites that can give you the information that you’re seeking.

1098: An emergency helpline done right

The poster child for these services has to be the Childline India Foundation’s (CIF) 1098 child abuse hotline (“dus…nauh…aath”, as CIF puts it). Set up with the support of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) as a Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) project, CIF later received government support and became a government-run NGO.

The services are very advanced even by global standards. Operators are present 24/7 every day of the year and a dedicated customer relationship management (CRM) system ensures that all operators deal with any calls appropriately. The process ensures that all relevant information is collected quickly and accurately in a form and then handed off to the concerned team to deal with.

CIF claims that they can usually have someone on-scene within an hour of receiving a call.

The hotline’s structured and well-integrated approach, backed by motivated staff has helped it achieve its goals. CIF claims to have aided millions of children since its inception.