TIA NEW /

panic buttonWomen and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi today said that Government’s decision to make it mandatory for the cell phone manufacturers to sell mobile phones with an additional feature of panic button will be a game changer in dealing with issues like women’s security.

She said, her Ministry is working on an app through which this button will alert 10 people around who are closest till the police comes.

The Minister’s reaction came shortly after the Centre announced that all mobile handsets sold in India from January 2017 will have to feature a panic button that will allow women in distress to seek help.

In addition, from January 2018, all mobile phones must have an inbuilt GPS to identify the handset user’s location.

Mrs Gandhi had recently launched the Raksha app and now the decision to make a panic button mandatory in the phones sold in India is expected to bolster women’s safety in the country.