India's single emergency number '112' to be active from January 1

The single emergency number '112' will be operational throughout India from January 1, 2017 to help people reach immediate services of police, ambulance and fire department.

Telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has approved the provision of a single number for various emergency services that would be similar to the '911' all-in-one emergency service in the US.

The service will also be accessible even through those SIMs and landlines whose outgoing call facility has been stopped or temporarily suspended.

A person in distress will need to call only 112, which will direct the call to concerned departments immediately for help. All existing emergency numbers will be phased out within a year of rolling out 112, depending upon the awareness about this new facility.

In India, different emergency communication and response systems are in place - police (100), fire brigade (101), ambulance (102) and Emergency Disaster Management (108).The emergency service calls will also be supported through a call centre like facility, which will have representatives speaking in Hindi, English and the local language.