Emergency Response Support System is a single emergency number 112, to address different emergencies of citizens and is designed to address all emergency signals received from citizens through voice call, SMS, e-mail, panic SOS signal, ERSS web portal etc.

A mobile App called ‘112 India’ quickly raises a request for help when a person is in emergency, by pressing a button to send alert messages with location data and make emergency call to 112. This facility will aid the concerned service agencies to reach out the requestor quickly.

The automated facility being setup for this purpose in the capital cities of all States and UTs, called Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP), will handle all these emergency signals and provide assistance available to the people in distress within the best possible time with the help of Police, Fire & Rescue, Health services etc.

ERSS tracks the rescue and service vehicles of all services (Police, Fire, Health etc) in real-time on a digital map of the State/UT and hence it will be possible to direct the right vehicle(s) to reach the service requestor and provide necessary support immediately.

Henceforth, all the existing emergency numbers like 100 (police), 101 (Fire and Rescue) and 108 (ambulance), 181 (Woman and Child Care) etc. will be integrated to unified number 112.

"112" is the Single Emergency number, people in distress can call 24h/7 in all 36 states/UTs of India to get immediate assistance from the fire brigade, a medical team or the police. You can call the number 112 with a fixed or mobile phone. The single emergency number is free everywhere.

112 is a globally recognized single emergency number, adopted by most of European countries, common wealth nations and mapped to emergency numbers in USA and Canada. Most of Phone handsets are manufactured with pre-programmed 112 as emergency number to be dialled with single key press. TRAI allotted this number for the purpose of single emergency number in India in May 2015.

As per Gazette published by Govt of India, all smart phones sold after 1^st January, 2017 (w.e.f. 1 st April 2017) will have a functionality of panic button which would be activated by pressing power button in succession 3 times in case of a smart phone and the similar functionality in a feature phone would be activated with press of numeric key 5 or 9 consistently. This panic button will cause an automatic dialling of emergency number 112.

The Govt of India took the decision to introduce the emergency number 112, so that people travelling in other States/UTs do not need to know all local emergency numbers. The emergency number 112 is easy to remember and moreover it is the only emergency you need to remember in India. This is important because people confronted with an emergency can be stressed or even in panic.

• The emergency numbers are free and available 24h/7.
• The transport costs for urgent medical assistance depend upon the type of Ambulance Service, which is called and is available. The amount is determined by the respective free or chargeable Ambulance. Most States/UTs run state-based free services and some charitable organizations also operate their Ambulances.
• The costs for urgent assistance from the fire department are mostly free of charge, yet your municipality can ask for a reimbursement for interventions that are not urgent when these are mentioned in the rules regarding charges. For further information, contact your municipality.

Following states have launched this number 112:

1. Jammu & Kashmir
2. Himachal Pradesh
3. Punjab
4. Uttarakhand
5. Rajasthan
6. Gujarat
7. Uttar Pradesh
8. Madhya Pradesh
9. Daman & Diu
10. Maharashtra
11. Chhattisgarh
12. Arunachal Pradesh
13. Telangana
14. Andhra Pradesh
15. Puducherry
16. Kerala
17. Tamil Nadu
18. Andaman & Nicobar Islands
19. Lakshadweep Islands
20. Delhi

Dr KK Aggarwal

Padma Shri Awardee

President Confederation of Medical Associations in Asia and Oceania (CMAAO)

Group Editor-in-Chief IJCP Publications

President Heart Care Foundation of India

Past National President IMA