NEW DELHI: India on Friday tested its first indigenously made emergency alert system on mobile phones, triggering a sharp beeping sound, vibrations, and a warning message for a few seconds across parts of the country.
The alert left many people confused, with some initially mistaking it for a fire alarm or a technical glitch. However, on reading the message, users realised it was part of a government test. The alert read: “Alert citizens, safe nation. No action is required by the public upon receipt of this message.”
One person driving a car said that the moment he heard the loud beep, he immediately pulled over, thinking it was a warning from his vehicle. Another user said all the phones at home suddenly started beeping and vibrating, giving the impression that their devices had been hacked.
A third person said that when his phone started making the sound, he initially thought it had malfunctioned, until he read the message, which says: “This is a TEST Cell Broadcast message sent by the National Disaster Management Authority in coordination with the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Government of India, as part of testing the Cell Broadcast solution for disseminating alerts. During the testing of the Cell Broadcast solution, you may receive this message multiple times on your mobile handset. Please ignore these message(s); no action is required at your end.”
At present, the government issues disaster alerts through SMS, but these are often missed or ignored. To improve this, the government has introduced Cell Broadcast (CB) technology alongside SMS alerts. This is especially useful in time-critical situations such as tsunamis, earthquakes, lightning strikes, and man-made emergencies like gas leaks or chemical hazards. In a cell broadcast system, alerts are sent simultaneously to all mobile devices within a specific geographic area, ensuring near real-time delivery.
The indigenous technology has been developed by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) under the Ministry of Communications, in collaboration with the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), to ensure timely dissemination of critical information to citizens.
NDMA has already operationalised the Integrated Alert System (SACHET), developed by the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT). It delivers disaster and emergency alerts via SMS to mobile users in geo-targeted areas across all 36 states and Union Territories.
Union Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, who launched the cell broadcast alert system on Saturday, said, “The self-reliant solution can reach every village, town, and region, including the Himalayas, coastal areas, and the north-eastern highlands. It does not require phone databases or data systems and is operator-agnostic, allowing all telecom service providers to connect.”