The Government of India has issued a draft notification for making the installation of location tracking devices, CCTV systems and alert buttons on all transport vehicles compulsory. The GPS tracking, cameras and one or more panic button will have to be fitted by the manufacturer, dealer or the operator of the vehicle.
The video recordings will have to be kept for 7 days on the on-board unit and will be used as evidence for arresting an accused in any incident. The panic button will be required to trigger an alarm at the nearest police station & patrol vehicle while also sending real time pictures (using the CCTV cameras) to the cops.
The backend for the National Level vehicle Security & Tracking System, including the design, implementation, operation etc., will be managed by the Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit Systems (DIMTS). Note that the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs had approved the ‘Security for Women in Public Road Transport in the country’ scheme in 2014, to install these security measures in public transport vehicles. The Government claims to have covered 32 cities in 12 states under this scheme, although no names or numbers are provided. The total cost of the initial phase was estimated to be Rs 1404.68 crore.
The draft however does not mention integrating it with the 112 emergency services proposed by the government of India. In March, TRAI set 112 as a common emergency number which can be used for contacting police, fire, and ambulance services. Linking panic buttons with the 112 services might be a good idea.
In May this year, the Department of Telecom made it mandatory for all mobile phones sold in the country from 1st January 2018 to have GPS in built. Additionally, all phones will also need to have a physical panic button, which will be implemented from the 1st January 2017.
