The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has temporarily suspended India’s Cell Broadcast emergency alert service, weeks after the Centre rolled out the system nationwide to deliver disaster warnings directly to mobile phones, according to a report by The Hindu.

In an advisory issued on June 12, the NDMA said it had suspended the service after competent authorities flagged certain issues and would keep it on hold until further instructions. Officials have not publicly disclosed the exact reason for the decision.

Service put on hold: The Cell Broadcast system allows authorities to send location-specific emergency alerts simultaneously to mobile phones in affected areas. Unlike SMS alerts, the system can deliver warnings in near real time even during network congestion by sending high-priority notifications with alert tones.

The suspension comes a little over a month after the Centre launched a nationwide exercise for the system on May 2. The Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT), under the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), developed the platform in collaboration with the NDMA and the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Reported trigger: According to a report by The Hindu, sources said the suspension may be linked to a disaster alert that was allegedly sent around midnight to the Prime Minister’s contact number. The report said that alerts issued by disaster management units in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh allegedly caused phones to ring at night. NDMA officials did not comment on the claim.

Disaster management authorities have used the system to send weather-related and other emergency alerts in multiple Indian languages. Kerala activated the system on June 6 and recently used it to issue warnings during periods of severe weather.

The Government’s earlier position: When launching the platform, Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia had said, “The launch of the Cell Broadcast System marks a transformative step in India’s disaster management framework, reflecting our shift from a reactive to a proactive approach in safeguarding citizens.”

Authorities said they will keep the service suspended while its functioning and operational protocols are reviewed. They have not announced a timeline for restoring it.

Read more:

• Delhi HC to rule on whether govt bypassed tender process for India’s emergency alert system
• Highlights of the Telecommunication Bill, 2023
• India’s draft Telecommunication Bill: DoT’s power to direct operators to broadcast announcements