Google on Tuesday activated its Emergency Location Service (ELS) on Android devices in India.
Uttar Pradesh has become the first state in the country to fully integrate this advanced caller location technology with its 112 emergency services.
“Google has announced the activation of Emergency Location Service (ELS) in Android in India, with Uttar Pradesh becoming the first state to fully integrate enhanced caller location into its 112 emergency services,” the company said in a statement.
ELS is a built-in feature on Android phones that automatically shares a caller’s precise location with emergency responders when a 112 call or SMS is made.
The service uses a combination of GPS, Wi-Fi, and mobile network signals to pinpoint the caller’s location with accuracy of up to 50 metres.
This is especially helpful in critical situations where calls may drop shortly after connecting, allowing responders to still find the person in need quickly.
Google said the service is designed with strong privacy protections. ELS activates only during emergency calls, is free to use, and does not require any additional apps or hardware.
Importantly, location information is sent directly from the user’s phone to emergency services and is not collected or stored by Google.
Before its full rollout in Uttar Pradesh, the feature was pilot tested for a few months with encouraging results.
During this period, ELS supported more than 20 million emergency calls and SMS messages, successfully identifying caller locations even when calls disconnected within seconds.
The system is powered by Android’s machine learning–based Fused Location Provider, which helps deliver accurate locations whether callers are indoors, outdoors, or on the move.
The service works on all compatible Android devices running version 6.0 and above. Once an emergency call is placed, the caller’s location is instantly visible to responders through the UP112 command system, along with routing intelligence provided by Pertsol.
This enables authorities to quickly decide whether police, medical, or fire services are needed and dispatch help without delay.
(With inputs from IANS)
