Indians will now get real-time disaster alerts on their phones
What's the story
Today, millions of mobile users across India received a test message from the government. The alert, titled "Extremely Severe Alert," announced the launch of a new instant disaster alerting service using indigenous technology. Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Union Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia launched this system today. The platform, called SACHET (Integrated Alert System), was developed by the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) and is already operational in all Indian states and union territories.
Prowess
Cell Broadcast technology an upgrade over regular SMS alerts
The SACHET platform has already sent over 134 billion SMS alerts in more than 19 Indian languages. These messages will be issued during natural disasters, weather warnings, and cyclonic events. The new Cell Broadcast technology is a major upgrade from SMS alerts as it ensures immediate attention by overriding normal phone settings with a loud alarm and prominent on-screen message. This way, even users on silent or do-not-disturb modes will be notified of critical information during emergencies like earthquakes.
System functionality
Technology is geo-targeted
The Cell Broadcast system will send alerts to all mobile phones, regardless of individual settings. This will ensure a wide and inclusive public reach during actual emergencies. The technology is geo-targeted, meaning only the people physically present in an affected area shall receive the alert. Messages are designed to override typical notification behavior and can appear as pop-ups on screens or trigger a loud alert tone/vibration until acknowledged by the user.
Alert types
Alerts will cover both natural and man-made emergencies
The Cell Broadcast system will be used for both natural and man-made emergencies, including earthquakes, tsunamis, lightning strikes, as well as gas leaks or chemical incidents. Alerts can include early warnings (severe weather or seismic activity), immediate threat notifications (evacuation orders, hazardous leaks), public safety advisories (do's and don'ts during disasters) and location-specific instructions like evacuation routes or shelters. Messages will be delivered in multiple languages based on region and device settings.