Women Safety Initiatives by the Government of India: Police, 112 and Safe City
Who runs women's safety in India, from 112 and Safe City projects to SHE Teams, Damini Squads and Pink Patrols, and what Kavach hopes to build with police and government.
On this page
The short answer
In India, police and public order are State subjects, so women's safety is delivered mainly by State police and city commissionerates. The Union Home Ministry funds and coordinates 112 (ERSS) and Safe City projects in eight cities under the Nirbhaya Fund, while the Women and Child Development Ministry runs One Stop Centres and the 181 helpline. Well-known police initiatives include SHE Teams, Damini Squads and Pink Patrols.
- Public order and police are State subjects: entries 1 and 2 of List II of the Seventh Schedule.
- ERSS 112 works in all 36 States and UTs; Safe City projects cover eight cities.
- SHE Teams, Damini Squads, Nirbhaya Squads and Pink Patrols are State police initiatives, not national schemes.
- Kavach does not call 112 today, and any integration would need official approval.
- No government body or police force has endorsed or partnered with Kavach.
This page is for police officers, civil servants, municipal officials and researchers working on women's safety, and for citizens who want to know who does what. It explains how public safety is organised in India, describes police women-safety initiatives in several states, and sets out plainly what Kavach is seeking.
Please note. No government department, police force or public body has endorsed Kavach or entered into a partnership with us. This page describes public programmes from official and press sources, and sets out what we are seeking.
Who is responsible for women's safety in India?
State governments are. "Public order" and "Police" are State subjects under the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution: entries 1 and 2 of List II, the State List. So patrolling, police stations and investigation sit with each State's police, organised as police commissionerates in many large cities and as district police elsewhere.
The Union Government supports the States with funding, technology, training and advisories. In practice, several bodies share the work:
| Who | What they do for women's safety |
|---|---|
| State police and city commissionerates | Patrols, police stations, Women Help Desks, investigation, special squads and state SOS apps |
| Union Ministry of Home Affairs | Runs a Women Safety Division; funds and coordinates ERSS 112 and the Safe City projects |
| Union Ministry of Women and Child Development | Mission Shakti, including One Stop Centres and the Women Helpline 181 |
| Municipal corporations and Smart City companies | Streetlights, public toilets, CCTV networks and city command and control centres |
| Indian Railways and the Railway Protection Force | Security on trains and at stations, including Operation Meri Saheli |
Police stations are the first point of contact for most women. By March 2026, 15,049 Women Help Desks had been set up in police stations across India, 14,363 of them headed by women officers, according to the Ministry of Women and Child Development.
What is ERSS 112 and how does it work?
The Emergency Response Support System gives India one emergency number, 112, for police, fire, ambulance and other help, and it is operational in all 36 States and Union Territories. Each State runs its own control room, called a Public Safety Answering Point, which takes requests and passes genuine ones to police, health, fire, women's, children's or railway dispatchers.
The Home Ministry describes ERSS as State-centric and lists ten channels through which it can receive distress requests: voice call, SMS, SOS, email, web request, chatbot, media crawler, IoT-based signals, WhatsApp and external signals. It had handled over 43 crore calls by March 2025, and the Women Helpline 181 is integrated with it. Our guide to 112 and your phone's SOS button explains how to use it.
What are the Nirbhaya Fund and the Safe City projects?
The Nirbhaya Fund is a non-lapsable corpus set up by the Government of India to pay for projects that make women safer. By March 2025, ₹7,712.85 crore had been allocated and ₹5,846.08 crore, nearly 76 percent, released and used, according to a statement in Parliament. It funds ERSS, One Stop Centres, Women Help Desks, Anti Human Trafficking Units, fast track special courts and Safe City projects, among others.
Safe City projects are being implemented in eight cities: Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow and Mumbai. The government describes them as integrated projects developed by each city's police and municipal corporation, in keeping with the demands of women citizens, to plug gaps in infrastructure. They start by identifying hotspots, then add CCTV, better lighting, technology for policing and community awareness programmes.
Which police women-safety initiatives run in Indian cities?
Many of India's best-known efforts are run by State police, so they differ from state to state. These are examples we could verify from official or press sources. Services change, so check your local police website for what runs today, and remember that 112 works everywhere.
SHE Teams, Hyderabad and Telangana
Telangana Police started SHE Teams in Hyderabad on 24 October 2014. Small teams, often in plain clothes and with discreet cameras, work in busy public places to catch harassers and stalkers, and take complaints over WhatsApp and social media. The model has since been extended to districts across Telangana.
Damini Squad and Buddy Cop, Pune
Pune Police formed Damini Squads of women officers in 2015 to help women and girls in distress, and revived them in 2021. Damini officers patrol crowded places and visit colleges to talk to students about harassment, cyber safety and complaints. Pune Police's Buddy Cop scheme, begun in 2017 and relaunched after the pandemic, links working women with officers through WhatsApp groups run by their local police station.
Nirbhaya Squad, Mumbai
Mumbai Police launched Nirbhaya Squads on Republic Day 2022, with a squad attached to every police station in the city. Each squad includes a woman sub-inspector, a woman constable, a male constable and a driver, and focuses on harassment and other crimes against women.
Himmat Plus, Delhi
Delhi Police's Himmat Plus app lets a registered user send an SOS with her location to the Delhi Police control room and to people she chose at registration, and the app records a short video clip when the alert goes out. A linked QR code scheme lets passengers in taxis and auto-rickshaws from airports, railway and Metro stations scan a code to share the driver's details with the police.
Operation Meri Saheli, Indian Railways
The Railway Protection Force runs Meri Saheli for women on long-distance trains, especially those travelling alone. Teams of young women RPF personnel brief them at the starting station, note their seat numbers and pass them to stations along the route so staff can keep watch, then collect feedback at the destination. It began as a pilot in South Eastern Railway in September 2020 and was extended to all zones from 17 October 2020.
Pink Police Patrol, Kerala
Kerala Police launched Pink Police Patrols in August 2016, starting in Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi. Cars crewed by women officers patrol bus stops, schools, colleges and crowded places by day, and Kerala Police now runs Pink Control Rooms in police districts across the state.
Kavalan SOS, Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu Police launched the Kavalan SOS app in June 2018. Pressing its SOS button sends the user's location to the police control room, which alerts the nearest police station; the app is meant for women and older people in particular.
What is Kavach seeking from police and government?
Working relationships, through proper channels, that help women and older people get help faster. Specifically:
- Partnerships with State police and city commissionerates, for example to test devices with women's safety squads or community policing teams once Kavach Core ships, and to learn what officers need from an alert.
- ERSS integration, only where officially permitted. Each State runs its own ERSS and decides what it accepts. We would like to discuss, through official channels, whether sharing our alert format (a name, the time and a live location link) could help a control room act faster. No such integration exists today.
- Support for safety audits with municipal corporations, Smart City teams and police, especially around transport hubs, markets and campuses.
- Devices for outreach by women's patrol teams and senior citizen cells, for people they identify as at risk, such as older adults living alone.
- Programmes under existing schemes, where eligible. If a State or city chooses to fund devices under a scheme whose rules allow it, we will follow that scheme's procurement and data rules. We are not suggesting any scheme already covers Kavach.
Does Kavach connect to 112 or the police today?
No. Kavach does not call 112 for you and is not a replacement for emergency services. When you squeeze the device, a 130 dB siren and strobe start, and an SOS with your name, the time and a live location link goes to your own emergency contacts through your paired phone. 112 is one tap away on the alert screen, but a person makes that call, not the device. You can read how Kavach works in full.
Any future link with ERSS or a State police system would happen only through official channels, with the approval of the authorities concerned, and in line with the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023. Until then the advice for every reader is the same: in an emergency, call 112.
How can police and government officials reach Kavach?
- Write to corporate@kavachdevices.com from your official email address, with your department, city or district, and what you would like to explore.
- Or use the contact form on kavachdevices.com and choose "Partnership, fleet or retail".
- We will normally reply within two working days, and can walk you through how an alert works and how our privacy design handles location data.
Community groups can read our guide to RWAs and campuses as first responders, and women's organisations our open invitation to nonprofits. This page is general information, not legal advice.
If you or someone near you is in immediate danger, call 112. It works across India.
Questions people ask
Is police a State subject or a Central subject in India?
Police and public order are State subjects. They are entries 2 and 1 of List II, the State List, in the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution. Each State government is responsible for law and order, patrolling and investigation. The Union Government supports States through funding, technology, training and advisories, for example through 112 and the Nirbhaya Fund.
What is the Nirbhaya Fund?
The Nirbhaya Fund is a non-lapsable corpus set up by the Government of India to pay for projects that improve the safety and security of women. By March 2025, ₹7,712.85 crore had been allocated and about 76 percent used. It funds ERSS 112, One Stop Centres, Women Help Desks in police stations, Safe City projects and fast track special courts, among others.
Which cities have the Safe City project in India?
Safe City projects under the Nirbhaya Fund are being implemented in eight cities: Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow and Mumbai. Each is developed by the city's police and municipal corporation to plug gaps in infrastructure, with components such as CCTV, better lighting, technology for policing and community awareness programmes.
What are SHE Teams in Hyderabad?
SHE Teams are women's safety teams of the Telangana Police, started in Hyderabad on 24 October 2014. Small teams, often in plain clothes with discreet cameras, work in busy public places to catch harassers and stalkers, and accept complaints over WhatsApp and social media. The model has since been extended to districts across Telangana.
What is the Damini Squad in Pune?
The Damini Squad is a team of women police officers in Pune, formed in 2015 to help women and girls in distress and revived in 2021. Damini officers patrol crowded places and visit colleges to talk to students about harassment, cyber safety and how to file a complaint. In an emergency in Pune, call 112.
Does Kavach connect to 112 or the police?
No. Kavach does not call 112 for you and has no link with any police control room. One squeeze starts a siren and strobe and alerts your own emergency contacts, and 112 is one tap away on the alert screen. Any future connection with ERSS or a State police system would happen only through official channels and with official approval.
Sources
- PIB, Ministry of Women and Child Development: Safety and security of women (March 2026)
- PIB, Ministry of Women and Child Development: Schemes under the Nirbhaya Fund (March 2025)
- PIB, Ministry of Women and Child Development: Safe City Projects and ERSS (July 2024)
- Ministry of Home Affairs: Emergency Response Support System (ERSS)
- Constitution of India, Seventh Schedule, List II (State List)
- The News Minute: Kerala Police Pink Patrol
- The News Minute: Tamil Nadu Police Kavalan SOS app
- SheThePeople: Pune Police revive Damini Squads
Checked on 3 October 2026. Helpline numbers and rules change, so confirm with the official source before you rely on them.
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