Creating an Emergency Information File for Your Family in India

An emergency information file helps family, neighbours and professionals act when the person who normally manages everything is unavailable. For NRIs, it also reduces the delay caused by distance, time zones and uncertainty about who has authority or where important information is kept.

1. Start with a one-page emergency sheet

List the family member’s full name, date of birth, home address, preferred language and two identifying details that can be shared safely. Add the names and numbers of one nearby responder, one overseas family contact and one backup. Assign roles: who can reach the home, accompany the person to hospital, contact relatives and look after dependants or pets.

Include India’s single emergency number, 112, for police, fire or medical emergencies. The Government’s Emergency Response Support System identifies 112 as the pan-India emergency number. Also record the nearest appropriate hospital and local contacts actually used by the family; verify these numbers periodically rather than copying unconfirmed helplines from social media.

2. Create a current medical summary

With the person’s consent, record diagnosed conditions, allergies, current medicines with dose and timing, recent procedures, implanted devices, mobility or communication needs, and the names of treating doctors and preferred hospital. Add health-insurance and third-party administrator details where applicable. Do not guess blood group or diagnosis: mark unknown information as unknown and let clinicians confirm it.

3. Add a document locator—not a risky document dump

Make an index showing where passports, OCI cards, Aadhaar, insurance papers, property records, medical files, wills and other important documents are stored. Include expiry dates and the person authorised to access each item. Copies should be limited to what is genuinely needed. Officially issued digital documents may be available through DigiLocker, but access credentials must remain private.

4. Record authority, consent and family instructions

State who may receive medical updates and who should be contacted for important decisions. Keep copies or location details for any valid Power of Attorney, guardianship record, nomination, advance medical instruction or other authority prepared for the person. Do not assume that being a relative automatically authorises access or decision-making. Legal effect varies by document and circumstance, so have an appropriate lawyer and clinician review individual arrangements.

5. Protect financial information

List bank, insurer and card-provider names with their official customer-care channels, but do not write PINs, OTPs, CVVs, passwords or full card details in the emergency file. Record recurring obligations that may need urgent attention—such as caregiver salary, utility payments or insurance renewal—without exposing account credentials. Any person handling money should have clear, lawful authority and maintain receipts.

6. Use both physical and digital access carefully

Keep a sealed, labelled physical copy in an agreed location and tell two trusted people where it is. Maintain an encrypted digital copy with access limited to named individuals. Avoid circulating identity and medical documents through large messaging groups. The Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission’s ABHA system can support consent-based access and sharing of linked health records, but it is optional and should be used only according to the individual’s choices.

7. Test and update the file

Put the revision date on the front page and review the file every three to six months, and after any hospitalisation, new medicine, change of address, expired document or changed contact. Run a short family exercise: can the nearby responder find the file, identify the hospital, reach the overseas contact and locate the insurance information without asking the person who prepared it?

NRI Solutions 360’s family-support and emergency-coordination services may assist with agreed local follow-up and documented coordination, subject to consent, location and scope. Families can send an enquiry about organising an India-side readiness plan.