Mobiles to have SoS button for women's safety: Chidambaram

Mobile handset makers will have to introduce SoS alert button to ensure that women in distress can be reached by the police in the minimum possible time, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said today while unveiling the proposal for utilisation of Rs 1,000 crore Nirbhaya Fund.

He said the fund will be utilised to introduce SoS alert systems in trains and installing Global Position System (GPS) and CCTVs in public transport vehicles.

On the first death anniversary of Nirbhaya, the 23 year old Delhi gangrape victim, Chidambaram told reporters that the ministries of Home Affairs, Railways and Road Transport and Highways will bring in separate Cabinet notes to pursue a set of proposals.
"The Cabinet notes are under preparation... Three ministries will bring to Cabinet the proposals either this Thursday or next Thursday," he said.

Chidambaram had announced in the Budget 2013-14 the Nirbhaya Fund with a corpus of Rs 1,000 crore as a tribute to the gangrape victim. Nirbhaya (fearless) was the pseudonym given to the victim to hide her actual identity.

As the proposal mooted by the MHA, in consultation with the IT Ministry, police administration will be integrated with the mobile phone network to trace and respond to distress calls with minimum response time.

"The scheme will be launched in 157 cities in two phases (55 in phase I and 102 in phase II). The expected outlay is Rs 1,000 crore," an official statement said.

The Road Transport Ministry, he said, has proposed a scheme, 'security of women in road transport in the country', which will cover 32 towns - each with a population of over one million - to be implemented over two years. The expected outlay is about Rs 1,700 crore.