India has finally got a national emergency number, similar to 911 in the US and 999 in the UK. It will adopt 112 as its single emergency response number across the country.

India already has a series of existing emergency numbers such as 100 for police, 101 for fire, 102 for ambulances and 108 for disaster management. These will continue to operate for at least one year, but will eventually be replaced with 112, which will integrate all these services.

In addition, there are also a series of helpline numbers for specific categories in different states, such as 181 for women in distress in Delhi and 1094 for missing children and women in Delhi.

Instead of dialling to these, people in need of help can now just call 112, which will direct the call to the relevant departments and agencies for immediate help. The number will be toll-free and accessible to those whose mobile and landline phones have no balance or outgoing call facility. Users can also ask for help through SMS.

The number 112 had been recommended by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India last year, and will be rolled out within a few months. It will be managed by a call centre, with operators in Hindi, English and local languages. The internal system will also communicate the location of the caller to the closest help centre to reduce response time.