India's 20k-crore emergency response plan hits spectrum hurdle

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. NEW DELHI : When a police officer calls for backup, emergency crews respond to a disaster, or agencies coordinate during a riot, one thing must work: communication.

That is why the government’s ₹20,000-crore plan to modernize India’s public-safety and disaster-response networks has become so critical. But as the project gathers pace, a quiet turf war in the central government over telecom spectrum is now threatening to slow it down, raising questions about how a scarce national resource should be prioritized when lives are at stake.

At the heart of the dispute is the 700 MHz spectrum band, coveted for its ability to provide wide, reliable coverage. The home ministry's Directorate of Coordination Police Wireless (DCPW) is seeking the spectrum for police and disaster-response use, while the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) says the band is already reserved and cannot be assigned at this stage, according to two officials in the know.

This comes at a time when India is looking to upgrade its communication networks for public protection and disaster relief (PPDR) with enhanced broadband capabilities. An upgrade to the communication network, used by public safety agencies such as police departments, fire departments, emergency medical professionals and paramilitary forces is needed as the existing infrastructure is largely fragmented, narrow-band or based on aging analog systems primarily limited to voice communication.

These legacy networks often operate in silos and lack interoperability that prevents different public safety agencies—such as police, fire and medical teams—from coordinating seamlessly or sharing mission-critical information during a crisis. Modern emergency response