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India's entrepreneurial acumen is recognised worldwide, especially in the IT sector. Now a Mumbai-based company, Mercury Infocomm Private Limited, which has come up with an innovative product called Auto Vigil, once more highlights this already well-known Indian attribute.
The company's product Auto Vigil comes as a boon to the millions of young girls and women employed in business process outsourcing industry and other segments where women have to work in night shifts and other odd hours, a period when security hazards assume dangerous proportions.
Their security assumes tremendous significance in the wake of the gruesome murder of a 24-year-old woman, Pratibha Murthy, working with Hewlett Packard Global Delivery India Centre in Bangalore last month. A person masquerading as the driver of her company's car raped and murdered her.
This incident led to a lot of soul-searching within the BPO industry as well as security agencies and many questions were asked regarding security measures taken by the companies and the police, vis-a-vis the safety and security of women working in night-shifts with the BPO industry.
Fears that many women may think twice about working at odd hours became rampant. This, in turn, led to fears that the rapidly growing Indian BPO industry might fall apart if the significant women-working population decided to desert this segment.
After all, India is the favoured destination for off-shoring only because of its talented work-force and if bright, young women are driven away from this sunrise industry by fears for their security, then the future of the entire Indian BPO industry would be at stake.
Auto Vigil, a device conceived by Mercury Infocomm chairman R P Mishra, therefore, comes as a godsend to all those industries that employ women in night shifts. This device, now undergoing real-time testing, has the potential to drive away the nightmares of deficient security to women.
Auto Vigil consists of two components -- the mother unit that is fixed in the car and a remote unit that is with the woman. The mother unit is a combination of the latest auto security systems and a programmable GSM trans-receiver with loudspeaker capability while the remote unit is user-friendly and convenient to use and it is almost the size of a key chain.
According to Mishra, this security device "priced reasonably at Rs 20,00" achieves four objectives simultaneously.
First of all it empowers the women in the car with a system to protect themselves. With this device that has a button, she can confirm if this is indeed the car sent by her company to fetch her.
When she presses this button, there will be a flash and a hooting sound which will confirm that this is indeed the right car and hence safe for her to travel.
If after getting in the car, the driver misbehaves with her, she can, by pressing another button immobilise the vehicle.
Then a series of actions will occur, which, says Mishra "Virtually guarantees the safety of the woman in the car." A siren will start blowing instantly which will be further complemented by flashlights coming on simultaneously.
"A significant point that needs highlighting here is that the siren and the flashlights which will draw attention to the car can be put off only by the BPO administrator and not the driver," informed Mishra.
While this will automatically draw attention to the car, thereby reducing if not totally eliminating any danger to the women inside the vehicle, an SMS will automatically be directed to the BPO administrator, informing him of the location of the car.
Two similar SMSes will also be directed to the police and the passenger's family and relatives.
Developed indigenously by Mercury Infocomm, Mr Mishra said that the message will go to the BPO administrator thrice on the phone.
A facility has been incorporated in the device which will enable it to try the next number of the BPO administrator, in case he is not reachable in the first number called. "Because the entire process is tech-driven, the time taken for the entire exercise will not exceed two minutes at the most," Mishra informed.
Another highlight of Auto Vigil is that the location of the car will be revealed to the BPO administrator. However, what will make the tracking of the car very easy will be the sirens and the flashlights which will attract inevitable attention.
Claiming that Auto Vigil, which combines both the GSM and RF technology is extremely user-friendly, Mr Mishra said that the device works on car battery.
Even here, a fail-safe feature has been incorporated which immediately brings to the notice of the BPO administrator any attempts at tampering with the car battery. Besides, the company provides a battery back-up of one-and-a-half hours.
Auto Vigil has apparently received an encouraging response from BPO companies.
Reveals Mishra: "Many companies have asked for demos and we are in the process of providing them. I am confident we will be able to make a mark in the very first year of the launch itself."
In the first phase, the company plans to target the southern markets of Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Pune. With a vehicle population of around 40,000 engaged by the BPO industry, "even a 20 percent sales of Auto Vigil will be a highly-creditable achievement," he said.
In the second phase, Mercury Infocomm will target Delhi and other markets.
Mishra reckons he is on to a good thing. However, though he does not deny the business angle to his indigenously developed device, he says that providing security to women employees, especially security for those working in the nights and odd hours assumes paramount importance.
"I cannot forget that in the Bangalore case, a reasonably-priced device such as this could have easily saved a life," he says.
Along with this, if his Auto Vigil helps dissipate the fear psychosis that had arisen after the gruesome Bangalore episode, it will prove a major encouraging factor for women to work in BPOs and other industry segments where night shifts are very common.