The Indian Government has decreed that, from 1 January 2017, every phone in India must be equipped with a panic button, that allows users to promptly alert emergency authorities.
The panic button will be mandatory feature in both smartphones and basic feature phones. In the latter, to activate the panic button, the user would require to press a dedicated key on the keypad or the "5" or "9" numbers, while smartphones will have to integrate a new feature in their operating software.
This move has been introducted, mainly, to tackle violence against women which, sadly, is a very serious problem in India.
Commenting on the same, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister of Communications and Information Technology, the man behind this move said, " technology is solely meant to make human life better, and what better than using it for the security of women."