Summoning help to the precise accident spot will soon get easier as one will be able to call the Centre-run 108 emergency ambulance services without specifying the location from a phone with no Internet connection.

The Union health ministry recently entered into an agreement with technology giant Google and telecom service providers to offer the service in which the ambulance will reach the spot without being informed about the location, said a government official.

The service will be run using twin technologies - Cell Tower Triangulation and Google Emergency Location Services.

While Cell Tower Triangulation technology uses information from the telecom operator about the location, the Google ESL uses GPS to track the location in a more accurate way.

“Both will be used in the new avatar of 108 emergency ambulance services to accurately reach the accident site. This is a one-of-a-kind initiative, as it involves the use of technology for helping citizens without the prior need of Internet or an app,” the official said.

“This is an app-free and Internet-free platform and hence it is universal, which means one can avail the service if the phone does not have Internet,” the official said.

The idea was pitched by IAS officer Abhijeet Kaplish of the 2015 cadre, currently posted as the Sub-Divisional Magistrate in Mansa, Punjab.

In 2016, while he was going to Bhatinda from Chandigarh, he saw an accident on the road. He called up the ambulance, but could not give the exact location. He then contacted the local Senior Superintendent of Police, after which help arrived.

It was after this incident that he started thinking of a technology to help people in such a situation, the official said.

One year later, Kaplish joined as the assistant secretary in the Union health ministry and it was then when he proposed the idea to his seniors.

His idea was converted into a presentation, and was shortlisted by the cabinet secretary and was delivered to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in September 2017.

“The PM appreciated the initiative and requested officials to take up the project for the benefit of the people. The government chose Uttar Pradesh as a suitable state for a pilot. The pilot has been initiated in the state since January this year,” the official said.

If successful, it will be replicated across the country. Other states can also take up the project as part of their yearly planning under the National Health Mission for 2019.