New Delhi, Feb 15 (IANS): As per the Indian governments directive last year, Chinese smartphone maker nubia has updated its software for the power button to also function like the panic button, the company announced on Wednesday.

Pressing the power button thrice will connect the users to the helpline and the GPS in the phone will help authorities to track the location of the person, the company said in a statement.

"As a brand, it is our responsibility to make sure we build technology that is meant to make life better and what better than using it for the security of an individual," Eric Hu, Country Manager at nubia, India, said in a statement.

This feature will be available across all nubia series of phones which includes Z11 and N1 and all the phones that nubia will be launching in India in the future.

Existing nubia users can download the update from www.nubia.com/in.

In a bid to make a mobile phone handset an effective tool for self protection, especially for women, last year in April, the government said no device without a single key panic button will be sold.

The directive followed a similar move for one emergency '112' number for availing services of police, ambulance and fire department.