On Saturday, several citizens received an “extremely severe alert” message on their phone as the central government tested a nationwide indigenous mobile emergency alert system.
The system, aimed at ensuring faster and more effective delivery of emergency alerts to citizens during natural calamities, was developed by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) in collaboration with the National Disaster Management Authority.
“India, launches Cell Broadcast using indigenous technology, for instant disaster alerting service for its citizens. Alert citizens, safe nation. No action is required by the public upon receipt of this message. This is a test message. - Government of India,” read the message received by millions of citizens on Saturday morning.
Earlier in the day, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, along with Union Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, launched the system called ‘Cell Broadcast Alert’.
According to an official statement issued earlier this week, the system is based on the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) as recommended by the UN body International Telecommunication Union.
It is currently operational across all 36 States and Union Territories of India and delivers disaster and emergency-related alerts via SMS to mobile users within geo-targeted areas.
"As part of the pan-India rollout and the launch of the Cell Broadcast (CB) facility, nationwide testing and trials are currently being conducted to assess the system's performance and reliability prior to its formal inauguration and dedication to the nation. During this period, members of the public may receive test messages in English, Hindi and regional languages on their mobile devices," the statement said.
DoT has appealed for the cooperation of the public during the testing phase and reiterated that all test messages during this period are purely for system validation purposes and no action is required from the recipient side.
