The helpline for calling an ambulance in India at times of emergency is 102. The toll-free number for calling local police is 100 and the number for calling the local fire station in India is 101. One can also get emergency response services in case of medical, fire, and police emergencies by calling 108, the toll-free number. However, this service can be availed only in the following states:
• Andhra Pradesh
• Karnataka
• Gujarat
• Assam
• Uttarakhand
• Maharashtra
• Goa
• Meghalaya
• Tamil Nadu
• Madhya Pradesh
• Rajasthan
• Uttar Pradesh
Crisis help lines
One can call the following numbers for 24 hour CARE helpline in cases of drug addiction and alcoholism – (040) 2779 0278 and 0984 826 3919. The toll-free number for getting information and other assistance for pan cards is 1800220306. The toll-free number of the Anti Corruption Bureau of India is 1800222021. There are a couple of helpline numbers to be dialed in case of diseases like HIV/AIDS. For people with BSNL and MTNL connections the number is 1800 180 2008. For people with all other kinds of connections the number to dial is 0172 2662172. For people who wish to report child abuse the number is 1098.
Important help lines
For people who want to report incidents of sexual violence and domestic abuse the helpline number is 1066. The suicide/crisis line in India is (044) 2754 6669. This is a 24 hour helpline. The anti-poison helpline number of India is 1066. The cancer helpline in India is 99 105 16562. The helpline for emergency contraception Jansankhya Sthirata Kosh, New Delhi, is (011) 6666 5555. This is a toll-free number and stays open from Mondays to Saturdays from 9 am to 6 pm. This is a national helpline that provides information on issues related to reproductive health. It is regarded as one of the first-of-its-kind.
The general toll-free number for any telephone-related inquiry in India is 197 and the number for international direct dialing is 0-02. In case of any general inquiry with the Indian Railways you can call up 131. In case of making reservations the number is 132 and in case of arrival-related information the number is 133. The weather hotline in India is 65427788 and the tourism hotline is 51574999. Following is a list of the hotline numbers of some international airports of India:
• Amritsar – 91-183-2592166
• Bengaluru – 91-80-5277944
• Ahmedabad – 91-79-2869211
• Goa – 91-832-540806
• New Delhi – 25652021
• Chennai – 2560289
• Mumbai – 26156600
• Thiruvananthapuram – 91-471-500283
• Hyderabad – 91-40-27903785
• Kolkata – 25119977
If you wish to get information from Indian Airlines you can call up their helpline at 1600 180 1407. The helpline number of Jet Airways is 1600 22 5522 and that of Spice Jet is 1600 180 3333. The cell phone companies of India have their helpline numbers as well. People who own Nokia (now Microsoft) phones can call on 3030 3838 and people with Motorola sets can call Motorola Moto Assist at 1600 11 1211. The helpline number of Sony Ericsson is 3901 1111.
The biggest utility of these helpline numbers is that they help you in crisis. You may be in a tough situation and you may have no idea how to deal with it. In such situations – especially one where the levels of dangers are far more than what we are capable of dealing with – it is not uncommon to lose common sense for a while. It is in such situations that these numbers come in so handy.
