The radiation level emitted by the telecom towers in the country will be reduced to about 10 per cent of its present level from Saturday.

The new EMF (Electromagnetic Frequency) radiations exposure limits will be one tenth of the current level. The move follows a decision taken earlier to address health concerns raised by the people. As per the new guidelines released by the government, the handsets that are produced in the country or which are imported from abroad should now come with reduced absorption capacity.

The new rules also state that the minimum distance of a tower having two antenna should be at least 35 meter from a residential building. According to the latest data, there are about seven lakh telecom towers across the country.

Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal warned service providers that anyone who does not comply with the new regulations will be slapped with a penalty of Rs 5 lakh per tower.

"Public health comes first. Technology must be embraced but it ultimately must be subject to public health," he said.

Health experts have also advised mobile phone users to use technologies like Bluetooth or a hands-free for keeping the phone away from their body. They are also advised to reduce the length of the calls and increase use of SMS instead of voice calls.