Government programme
Dial 112 Emergency Response Support System (ERSS) in Bihar
A single emergency number, 112, for police, fire, ambulance and women's safety help, answered at a command and control centre in Patna staffed by women police and served by a fleet of emergency response vehicles. The first phase (July 2022) covered Patna district and district headquarters with about 400 vehicles; the second phase (February 2024) extended it to rural areas, and the fleet has been 1,833 vehicles since mid-2024. Bihar Police reports more than 60 lakh people helped by July 2026.
Good to know: Running statewide since the second phase of February 2024. Every usage, response-time and crime figure is a Bihar Police statement; no Parliament answer, ministry data or audit for Bihar has been found, so this is not a verified outcome.
Reported figures (11)
Each figure is marked as an official statistic, a government claim or a target
| Measure | Figure | As of | Type | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Spent on the first phase Officials' briefing to the chief minister at the launch. | ₹ 176 Cr | Government claim | The Times of India | |
Emergency response vehicles in the first phase | 400 vehicles | Government claim | The Times of India | |
Calls received in the first three weeks 6 to 25 July 2022, from a Bihar Police headquarters analysis. | 6,599 calls | Government claim | The Times of India | |
Vehicles to be procured by December 2022 A plan stated in July 2022. The second-phase vehicles were handed over in February 2024. | 1,200 vehicles | Target, not a result | The Times of India | |
Vehicles added in the second phase 883 four-wheelers and 550 two-wheelers. | 1,433 vehicles | Government claim | OneIndia Hindi | |
Emergency response vehicles in service 1,283 four-wheelers and 550 two-wheelers. The same 1,833 is given in May and July 2026. as_of is the publication date; the statement was made the day before. | 1,833 vehicles | Government claim | The Times of India | |
People served in the first two years Cumulative. 'Approximately 20 lakh' (TOI); OneIndia, the same day, says 'more than 20 lakh'. | 20,00,000 people | Government claim | The Times of India | |
People helped since launch Cumulative, 'more than 55 lakh'. | 55,00,000 people | Government claim | The Times of India | |
People helped since launch Cumulative, 'more than 60 lakh'. | 60,00,000 people | Government claim | The Times of India | |
People attended a day Earlier statements: about 5,000 a day (July 2024) and more than 6,500 a day (May 2026). | 7,500 people per day | Government claim | The Times of India | |
Cost of the new ERSS command centre at Rajiv Nagar, Patna Under construction in May 2026. A planned cost, not spend. | ₹ 172.8 Cr | Target, not a result | The Times of India |
How it unfolded (6)
Each step as a dated source records it, oldest first
- Programme initiated
The chief minister launched Dial 112, one toll-free number for police, fire and ambulance help, inaugurated its command and control centre on the Bihar Police Radio campus in Patna and flagged off about 400 emergency response vehicles for the first phase.
The Times of India · OneIndia Hindi
- Pilot
Police headquarters figures reported on 30 July put calls at 6,599 between 6 and 25 July, and described the project as in its trial stage, to be rolled out in two phases.
The Times of India
- Operational
The chief minister handed over 883 four-wheelers and 550 two-wheelers for the second phase, which police said extended the service to rural areas across the state.
TV9 Bharatvarsh (tv9hindi.com) · OneIndia Hindi
- Operational
Two years after launch, the ADG for technical services said Dial 112 had served about 20 lakh people, with a fleet of 1,833 vehicles and about 5,000 people helped a day.
OneIndia Hindi · The Times of India
- Operational
Police said the service had helped more than 55 lakh people since launch, with average response under 11 minutes, and that a new Rs 172.80 crore command centre was being built in Patna and a mirror centre in Gaya was nearing completion.
The Times of India
- Operational
At four years the DGP said the service had helped more than 60 lakh citizens and was attending about 7,500 a day; police announced plans for an AI-assisted Next Generation ERSS and a mirror centre in Gaya.
The Times of India
What's confirmed
7 sourced facts
- Chief Minister Nitish Kumar launched the Emergency Response Support System, Dial 112, on 6 July 2022 as a single toll-free number for emergency services, and inaugurated its command and control centre on the Bihar Police Radio campus in Patna.
- The first phase deployed about 400 emergency response vehicles with mobile data terminals and GPS across all 38 districts, covering all of Patna district and district headquarters and strategic locations elsewhere; officials told the chief minister Rs 176 crore had been spent on it.
- The call centre is staffed by women police: 90 call-takers a shift at launch, and all 346 call-takers in May 2026.
- Between 6 and 25 July 2022 the service received 6,599 calls, 34% about law and order and 20% about domestic violence, and police described the project as in its trial stage.
- On 29 February 2024 the chief minister handed over 883 four-wheelers and 550 two-wheelers for the second phase, which police said extended the service to rural areas across the state; the fleet has been 1,833 vehicles since July 2024.
- Bihar Police statements put the cumulative number of people helped at about 20 lakh (July 2024), more than 55 lakh (May 2026) and more than 60 lakh (July 2026).
- Police said in May 2026 that the service could be reached by call, SMS, the Dial-112 India app, SOS or web portal, and integrates police, fire, ambulance and child helpline services. A 'Surakshit Safar Suvidha' trip-monitoring service for women travelling alone started in September 2024.
Still to be confirmed
8 open questions
- All usage, response-time and crime figures are Bihar Police statements. No Parliament answer, Ministry of Home Affairs data or audit reporting Bihar's Dial 112 performance has been found.
- What 'people served' counts (calls, incidents or persons) is not defined, so the cumulative totals cannot be checked against each other.
- The launch date: TOI (May 2026) says the service launched on 8 July 2022, while launch-day reporting, OneIndia (2024) and TOI (July 2026) say 6 July 2022. Both are recorded; date_launched uses the launch-day reports.
- Bihar's national standing: TOI (July 2024) reports officials saying Bihar was second in the country for daily call handling, while OneIndia's headline the same day says first. Neither is verified.
- Response time is reported variously as a 20-minute goal (July 2024), under 11 minutes on average (May 2026) and 10 minutes on average (July 2026), all police claims.
- The fall in murder, robbery and crimes against women in 2025 that police attribute to Dial 112 is a police analysis, not evidence that the service caused it.
- Planned items are not delivered: the Rs 172.80 crore Rajiv Nagar command centre, the Gaya mirror centre, the Next Generation ERSS with AI hotspot detection, body and dash cameras, and a one-click SOS app.
- Whether Bihar's ERSS draws central funding, and how much the second phase cost.
Sources (7)
Who reported it, when, and what they cover
| Publisher | Published | Covers | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
The Times of India Established news |
| Open source (opens in a new tab) | |
The Times of India Established news |
| Open source (opens in a new tab) | |
TV9 Bharatvarsh (tv9hindi.com) Established news |
| Open source (opens in a new tab) | |
OneIndia Hindi Established news |
| Open source (opens in a new tab) | |
The Times of India Established news |
| Open source (opens in a new tab) | |
The Times of India Established news |
| Open source (opens in a new tab) | |
The Times of India Established news |
| Open source (opens in a new tab) |
Record ID: BIHAR-GOV-021Dataset last checked Spotted an error? Report a correctionHow corrections work