The Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT), India’s telecom research and development organization, is advancing its Cell Broadcast System (CBS). This new interactive layer will enable individuals receiving emergency alerts to respond and communicate their status back to authorities. This development aims to improve the effectiveness of emergency communications across the country.
Separately, C-DOT is developing a voice-based query facility for emergency alerts, with the organisation planning to build the underlying artificial intelligence (AI) system in-house. Also Read I ‘Never resist correction, shutdown’: Microsoft unveils new draft code for its AI amid growing ‘control’ concerns C-DOT has also successfully conducted trials of the CBS system in four countries where it could potentially be deployed. Upadhyay, however, declined to name the countries as it is still in trial stage.
Emergency Alert System Launched Nationwide
The government has officially launched the new emergency alert system, known as the CBS, on May 2. This initiative follows nationwide tests that included loud audio alerts and phone vibrations to ensure critical messages reach individuals effectively. Union Minister of Communications Jyotiraditya Scindia emphasized the importance of the system, stating, “The objective is to ensure that a person does not miss a critical alert simply because they have not seen an SMS or their phone is on silent.” He highlighted the urgency of such alerts by asking, “If you are on a beach and a tsunami is approaching, would you prefer an ordinary SMS or a loud alert? In such situations, every second matters.” The nationwide test involved sending emergency messages directly to mobile phones across the country.
