New Delhi (Rajeev Sharma): In a major step toward strengthening disaster preparedness, authorities in India carried out a large-scale test of a new mobile-based alert mechanism, sending a high-priority warning message to millions of users across the country on Saturday.
The alert, labelled as “Extremely Severe,” briefly caused concern among citizens before officials confirmed it was only part of a planned drill aimed at evaluating the efficiency of the new system. The initiative has been introduced under the supervision of Amit Shah and Jyotiraditya Scindia.
Developed by the Centre for Development of Telematics, the platform—called SACHET—relies on cell broadcast technology to transmit alerts directly to mobile handsets within a specific geographical area.
Unlike conventional SMS notifications, the new system bypasses network congestion and ensures that warnings appear prominently on screens, accompanied by a loud alert tone, even if phones are on silent mode. This makes it particularly effective during large-scale emergencies when quick communication is critical.
Officials said the exercise was conducted to assess how efficiently the alerts can be delivered nationwide and to identify any technical gaps before full-scale deployment. The system is expected to be used for issuing warnings related to natural disasters such as earthquakes and extreme weather, as well as industrial emergencies.
The rollout of this technology is seen as a significant upgrade to India’s disaster management infrastructure, aiming to provide faster, more reliable alerts and improve public safety during critical situations.
