New Delhi: Seeking to give users faster, government-backed tools to check handset genuineness, block lost or stolen phones and curb telecom-linked financial fraud, the Department of Telecommunications has directed smartphone makers to pre-install the Sanchar Saathi app on new devices and to push it by update to phones already in the market — a move the government says is aimed squarely at protecting consumers and plugging gaps that enable theft and scamsters.
Sanchar Saathi, an indigenously developed portal and app run by the DoT, allows citizens to verify IMEI numbers, report and block lost or stolen handsets across operators, check how many connections exist in their name and flag suspicious numbers; the platform’s recent additions include the Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI), which classifies mobile numbers by fraud risk and shares risk signals with banks and payment platforms to prevent transactions to high-risk accounts.
According to official statements, Sanchar Saathi’s systems have aided in tracing and blocking large numbers of compromised devices and connections and flagged instances of potential financial fraud, and the DoT says the measure will help cut the supply chain for cloned and tampered handsets that are often used to perpetrate scams.
Implementation will follow the timeline set out in the November 28 order that gave OEMs 90 days to comply for new handsets and asked companies to push the app to devices already in circulation via software updates, a step the ministry says is necessary to reduce the ease with which stolen or counterfeit devices re-enter the market.
Acknowledging public concerns over pre-installation, the Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia has clarified through a PIB release that while manufacturers are required to ship phones with Sanchar Saathi visible at first use, activation and registration remain voluntary for users; the Ministry frames the policy as a public-interest safety measure — not a surveillance tool — and says data usage will conform to law and established safeguards.
Some global vendors have expressed reservations about mandated preloads in the past and sources say companies are in talks with the government to work out practicalities; officials have emphasised that the objective is consumer protection — to make it easier for citizens to verify devices, report misuse and receive actionable fraud alerts — while promising implementation details and data-handling norms that protect user privacy.
As the app moves from policy to widespread availability, the immediate outcomes to watch will be how quickly handset makers integrate the software, how straightforward removal or de-activation proves for users who do not wish to use it, and how effectively the FRI and blocking mechanisms help banks and payment providers pre-empt fraud without causing undue inconvenience to genuine customers. The government’s stated intention is clear: to strengthen a practical, technology-driven layer of citizen protection across India’s sprawling mobile ecosystem while balancing user choice.
BI Bureau
