NHAI is planning to modernise its 1033 National Highway Helpline using AI, location tracking and smart dispatch systems.
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is planning to upgrade its existing 1033 National Highway Helpline with advanced technology to provide faster and improved assistance to travellers on National Highways. The upgraded helpline will incorporate Artificial Intelligence, real-time location tracking and smart emergency-response systems, helping identify caller locations, understand calls in different Indian languages and dispatch assistance more quickly. Human operators will continue to play an important role, particularly in emergencies where human judgement and decision-making remain essential.
Introduced in 2018, the 1033 helpline operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, assisting National Highway users with medical emergencies, vehicle breakdowns, ambulance, crane and patrol vehicle dispatch, toll plaza and FASTag-related issues, and other travel-related problems. The helpline currently covers more than 1.46 lakh kilometres of National Highways, receives around 15,000 calls daily, and provides assistance in multiple languages.
The Next Generation 1033 platform is aimed at delivering faster assistance through improved call-receiving and dispatch systems, real-time location identification to help emergency teams reach the spot, AI-assisted multilingual support, and intelligent systems to identify and send the most suitable ambulance, crane or patrol vehicle. The upgrade also aims to provide proactive alerts on incidents and other developments, along with improved coordination between the helpline, emergency services and National Highway operations teams.
Indian Highways Management Company Limited (IHMCL), a company promoted by NHAI, has invited an Expression of Interest from companies and consortia for the development, design, deployment, operation and maintenance of the Next Generation 1033 Helpline and Call Centre. The initiative requires expertise in software development, digital platforms, 24×7 call-centre operations and emergency-response services, with participation encouraged from companies working in mobility and ride-hailing, logistics, quick-commerce, public safety, Computer-Aided Dispatch, Voice AI and Indian-language speech-recognition technologies.
IHMCL will seek suggestions and technical inputs from industry experts to help develop a reliable, scalable and future-ready system, with relevant industry best practices considered while finalising requirements. NHAI said the upgraded helpline is expected to make assistance on National Highways faster, more coordinated and more convenient, with the combination of technology and human support aimed at improving safety and the travel experience for highway users across the country.
Source: Press Information Bureau
