On Saturday (May 2) afternoon, mobile phones across India beeped simultaneously. If you were at home with your family, relaxing, and suddenly all phones started beeping together, chances are you may have panicked, wondering what the emergency was. However, it was nothing but a trial of the government's disaster alert system.
The alert came with a message: ‘Extremely severe alert! India, launches Cell Broadcast using indigenous technology, for instant disaster alerting service for its citizens. Alert citizens, safe nation. No action is required by the public upon receipt of this message. This is a test message. - Government of India.”
In a post on X on Friday, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) informed citizens about the launch of an advanced public alerting framework on May 2, aimed at enabling timely communication during critical situations.
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT), in collaboration with the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and Ministry of Home Affairs are coordinating on this system.
The alert message you received, accompanied by a loud beep, was a test of the same system. The DoT on Saturday urged citizens not to panic and clarified that no action was required from their end.
“If you receive an alert message on your phone, do not panic. This is part of testing the Emergency Alert System so that accurate information can be delivered on time during disasters. During testing, this message may appear repeatedly. Ignore it; you do not need to do anything,” the DoT said.
{{/usCountry}}“If you receive an alert message on your phone, do not panic. This is part of testing the Emergency Alert System so that accurate information can be delivered on time during disasters. During testing, this message may appear repeatedly. Ignore it; you do not need to do anything,” the DoT said.
{{/usCountry}}A similar nationwide test of the emergency alert system was conducted in February this year, when both iPhone and Android users reported receiving a “Test Alert” notification accompanied by a loud beep.
“This is a TEST Cell Broadcast message sent by the National Disaster Management Authority in coordination with the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Government of India, as part of testing the Cell Broadcast solution for disseminating alerts,” the notification stated.