C-DOT tests a text-triggered, geo-fenced air-raid siren after states bought sirens “without specifications”

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The news

Mumbai, 14 October. Sirens sounded from the Old Secretariat in Mumbai’s Fort area on 8–9 October after a civic note told citizens not to panic. It was a trial of a prototype “centralised siren triggering” device, tested earlier at Jaisalmer (30 September) and in Bihar (6 October); the team is from C-DOT, under the Department of Telecommunications, with the Director General, Civil Defence (MHA). The device uses C-DOT’s cell broadcast technology, launched for disaster alerts on 2 May 2026: a text message flips the siren switch, and geo-fencing limits activation to a chosen area. A Maharashtra Civil Defence note recorded “real-time, centralised and geo-targeted dissemination”. In Mumbai, towers block a third-floor siren. The aim is one national specification, after states bought sirens “without any specifications” post-Sindoor.

Prelims nuggets

Cell broadcast sends one message to every handset on a chosen cell tower at once, as a priority pop-up with a loud tone; SMS goes to individual numbers and can be delayed by congestion (News on AIR, 2 May 2026).
C-DOT (Centre for Development of Telematics), set up in 1984, is the telecom R&D body under the Department of Telecommunications.
The Civil Defence Act, 1968 is the legal basis for civil defence; the Director General, Civil Defence works under the Ministry of Home Affairs.