Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi said on Friday that all mobile phones will soon have an in-built panic button. Gandhi told the Lok Sabha that the button, which will be GPS-connected, can be added to new and existing cell phones. In case of emergency, a woman can press the panic button. If pressed for more than a few seconds, the button will dial a pre-determined emergency number, she said.

In October, the ministry had asked all mobile phone manufacturers to work out the feasibility of such a feature. Gandhi said the ministry is working on the proposal and is likely to be completed in six months.

Gandhi also elaborated on measures the government is taking for women’s safety, including having special police volunteers in every village, women’s helplines in states, besides panic buttons in mobile phones. She said the government has also set up 10 crisis centres for women and will increase the number to 660 in the districts. The centres provide free medical, legal and police help to women and their activities are monitored daily.