The Department of Telecommunications (DoT), under the Ministry of Communications, in collaboration with the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), has initiated nationwide testing of an indigenous mobile-based disaster communication system aimed at delivering emergency alerts to citizens in a faster and more effective manner.
The integrated alert system, known as SACHET, has been developed by the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT), the premier telecom research and development centre of the DoT. The system has already been successfully operationalised by NDMA across all 36 States and Union Territories of India and is currently being used to send geographically targeted disaster and emergency alerts through SMS.
According to officials, the platform has played a crucial role during natural disasters, severe weather conditions, and cyclones by enabling authorities to disseminate warning messages in more than 19 Indian languages. So far, over 134 billion SMS alerts have reportedly been transmitted through the system nationwide.
To further strengthen emergency communication during time-sensitive situations such as tsunamis, earthquakes, lightning strikes, gas leaks, and chemical hazards, Cell Broadcast (CB) technology has now been introduced alongside traditional SMS alerts. Unlike regular SMS services, Cell Broadcast technology allows warning messages to be simultaneously transmitted to all mobile devices within a specific geographical area, ensuring immediate delivery of alerts.
As part of the nationwide rollout and prior to the formal launch of the Cell Broadcast system, large-scale testing and trial exercises are currently being conducted across the country to evaluate the functionality and reliability of the network.
During the testing period, citizens may receive “test alerts” on their mobile phones in English, Hindi, and regional languages. Authorities have clarified that these are only trial messages and do not require any action from the public.
The alerts will be received only on mobile devices where Cell Broadcast test channels are enabled. Users can enable or disable such alerts through the following menu path on their smartphones: Settings → Safety & Emergency → Wireless Emergency Alerts → Test Alerts
Officials stated that citizens may receive multiple test messages during the exercise as part of system verification and requested public cooperation during the ongoing nationwide testing process.
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