Cell Broadcast Alert System Tested Across Country, Promises Immediate Disaster Warnings
New Delhi, May 02: The Central Government today tested the ‘Cell Broadcast Alert System’ here with the aim of providing quick information to the citizens in disaster and emergency situations, in which an emergency message appears in a message box on the screen of all types of mobile phones simultaneously and vibrates with a specific beep sound to attract attention.
Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia successfully completed its nationwide test through a remote in a program.
As part of the test, at around 11:45 am, mobile phones across the country received the emergency alert message along with a beep sound simultaneously. It was clarified in the message that this is a test and the public does not need to take any action. This state-of-the-art system has been developed by the Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications, in collaboration with the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to ensure timely dissemination of critical information to citizens during disasters.
The NDMA has successfully launched the integrated alert system, “Sachet,” developed by the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT), the Department of Telecommunications’ premier research and development center. The system is based on the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) recommended by the International Telecommunication Union. It is currently operational in all 36 states and union territories of the country, providing disaster and emergency alerts via SMS to mobile users in geographically targeted areas.
According to government data, over 134 billion SMS alerts have been disseminated through this system in over 19 Indian languages during natural disasters, weather warnings, and cyclones.
To further strengthen the disaster alert system, Cell Broadcast (CB) technology has now been incorporated in addition to SMS. This technology allows alerts to be broadcast simultaneously to all mobile devices within a designated geographic area, enabling near-real-time information delivery.
This system will be particularly useful in time-sensitive situations such as tsunamis, earthquakes, lightning strikes, gas leaks, and other chemical hazards, as well as in war or military attacks. C-DOT has been entrusted with the responsibility of developing and implementing this indigenous public emergency alert system based on cell broadcast.
As a first exercise, a test message in English, Hindi, and regional languages was sent to mobile users in all state capitals, including Delhi-NCR. The message stated, “India launches Cell Broadcast for rapid disaster alert service for its citizens using indigenous technology. Alert Citizen, Safe Nation.” No action is required upon receipt of this message. This is a test message.
During the test, due to simultaneous alerts in metro, buses and other public places, confusion and panic was seen among the people for some time, but later after reading the message, they breathed a sigh of relief and the situation became normal.
Calling it an important step towards ‘Alert Citizen, Safe Nation’, the government has appealed to the citizens not to panic due to such test messages, because their purpose is only to test and strengthen the quick information system in times of disaster.
