A class 12 student from a government school in Rajasthan has developed a protective device for women if they are attacked. The wrist-wearable device is designed to deliver a 220-Volt shock on contact, and also provide the woman's location, an SOS message and video to the police, reports said.
The wearable technology, named "Shock Glove" by its 17-year-old inventor Niranjan Suthar, has also requisitioned by a Delhi-based electronic firm to see the product's commercial value, reported Hindustan Times.
Suthar said he built the device for Rs 500. His parents provided him with the materials and his school gave him the platform to display the invention.
He caught the government's attention after winning the first prize at a state-level science fair in January 2016. He will now be presenting it at the National Science Fair in Delhi in March.
Suthar was inspired to create a safety device for women after news of Jyoti Singh's gang-rape in December 2012 made headlines.
The Central government, on the other hand, has also been proactive in providing safety apparatuses to women as crimes against them are on the rise.
According to National Crime Records Bureau's data, 1,32,939 cases of crimes against women were registered in 2014. At least 61.9 percent of those were assaults on women with the intent to outrage modesty.
Recently, Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi said cellphones would have panic buttons for women to resort to starting March 2016.
"It took us one year to finalise this initiative. We held several meetings with mobile companies and they have finally agreed to provide panic buttons in mobile phones," she told the Press Trust of India.
"If a woman feels she is in trouble, the only thing she has to do is press that button and it will immediately send a message to the police," the minister explained.
As many as 10,000 centres will also be built by companies to upgrade existing mobile phones to include the panic button technology.
