All Indian mobile phones' should have a panic button "

Indian students shout slogans during a protest against the recent cases of rape in New Delhi, India, Sunday, October 18, 2015Image copyrightAP
Image captionThe recent cases of rape have caused public displays of anger and sadness
India's Ministry of Communications said all mobile phones sold in the country in 2017, must include a panic button.

It is part of a wider campaign to improve the safety of women in the light of growing concerns about the level of sexual violence in the country.

Since 2018, phones must also include a GPS-navigation systems.

India does not have a centralized emergency number, but officials tend to introduce one this year.

Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister of Communications and Information Technology, said: "The technology is designed solely to make people's lives better, and what better than to use it to ensure the safety of women?"

The National Bureau of Crime reports said there were 337.922 reports of violence against women, including rape, molestation, kidnapping and violence in 2014, including 36,000 rapes, growth of 9% over the previous year.

It is likely that the actual incidence of rape is much higher than the official figures suggest.

It is not yet clear how the alarm button, the system will work, but it is likely to allow customers to call the emergency services, or by clicking on a button, or pressing the power button several times.

Safety of women has risen to the top of the political agenda in India with a fatal gang rape of 23-year-old medical student on a bus in Delhi in 2012 sparked new laws against rape in the country.

cases of rape that shocked India

December 21, 2015: Seven people were sentenced to death for the brutal rape and murder of a Nepalese woman, who is undergoing treatment of depression
January 23, 2014: Thirteen men, conducted in West Bengal in connection with the gang rape of women, allegedly by village elders of the order, who objected to her relationship with a man
April 4, 2014: Palace sentences three men to be hanged for the rape of 23-year-old photojournalist in Mumbai last year
January 15, 2014: Danish woman allegedly raped after losing his way in front of his hotel in New Delhi
September 17, 2013: Five young people held in Assam for allegedly gang-raping a 10-year-old girl
June 4, 2013: 30-year-old American woman gang-raped in Himachal Pradesh
April 30, 2013: five-year girl died two weeks after being been raped in Madhya Pradesh
December 16, 2012: Student gang-raped on a bus Delhi, sparking protests across the country and indignation