Centre Gets IIT-D to Install Switches in Vehicles for Women’s Safety

The matter of women’s safety has worsened in the past few weeks. And the centre is under stress with all the attacks on women and young girls happening in its tenure hence it has resorted to technology to find a solution. The Ministry of Electronics and IT has collaborated with IIT-Delhi to develop a switch-based product that they can be installed in cars and buses to provide safety to the riders especially women and girls.

“We are using technology to ensure help in case of distress while travelling in public transport. The proposed panic switch system when invoked will generate a loud alarm in the vehicle which will attract public attention, and send the coordinates of the person to a server (police control room) to provide necessary help,” a senior ministry official said, The Hindu reported.

The system will have features that can tell the legitimacy of the driver and a camera interface.

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“The system is designed monitor that health of the switch…whether it is in proper working condition or not, and it will also enable tamper-proof operation,” the official said.

“We are using technology to ensure help in case of distress while travelling in public transport. The proposed panic switch system when invoked will generate a loud alarm in the vehicle which will attract public attention, and send the coordinates of the person to a server (police control room) to provide necessary help,”

The product is in its finishing stage and trials of its beta version are already going on. The ministry has decided to make the final version by May. “We have field tested the first version and expect the final version in May, 2018 for cars and by August, 2018 for buses,” the official said.

Nirbhaya Fund is investing money in this project. The central government set it up in 2013 after the name given by the media to the victim of the horrific gangrape of December, 2012. The government set up this fund to invest in bringing up impactful projects that help in sustaining and providing safety for women and young girls across the country.

In 2016, the Women and Child Development Ministry along with the Ministry of IT and Electronics had decided to announce panic buttons in all phones. It had ordered all phone companies to come up with phones with attached SOS buttons. However, the implementation got delayed by one year. It recently saw some progress in UP this year.

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