Panic button in all mobile phones from Jan 2017, announced in parliamentNew Delhi, May 4(AZINS) Come January 2017, every mobile phone will have a 'panic button' installed in it using which women in distress can immediately alert police, Lok Sabha was informed today.

Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said by January 2017, all mobile phones will have a 'panic button' so that if a woman is under some kind of threat, she can use the button and alert the police. Underlining that there should be no apprehension about this panic button, he said, "Some kind of rumours are going around about this button, but I want to assure that there will no inconvenience to anyone."

During Question Hour, Prasad said by January 2018 all mobile will also have GPS so that if a woman is in distress and alerts police, her location can be tracked. He said there are around 102 crore mobile phone connections in the country and 40 crore Internet connections. Of the 40 crore Internet connections, 60 per cent are of mobile based, he said.