In order to protect citizens from purchasing counterfeit products, the Centre announced on Monday that it has requested mobile phone manufacturers and importers to ensure that the ‘Sanchar Saathi‘ mobile application is pre-installed on all new mobile phones made or imported for use in India.

This will facilitate the easy reporting of suspected telecom resource misuse and enhance the effectiveness of the ‘Sanchar Saathi’ program.

According to the guidelines released on November 28, mobile manufacturers and importers are required to make the pre-installed Sanchar Saathi application easily visible and accessible to users during the initial setup or first use of the device, ensuring that its functionalities remain enabled and unrestricted.

Moreover, for devices that have already been produced and are currently available for sale in India, manufacturers and importers of mobile phones should strive to push the application through software updates.

The companies need to accomplish this implementation within 90 days and submit a progress report within 120 days.

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is carrying out the Sanchar Saathi initiative to combat the misuse of telecom resources in cyber fraud and to enhance telecom cybersecurity.

The department has established the Sanchar Saathi portal and app, which allows citizens to verify the authenticity of a mobile phone using the IMEI number, as well as other services like reporting fraudulent communications, lost or stolen devices, verifying mobile connections registered in their name, and accessing contact information for banks and financial institutions.

In a different statement, the DoT indicated that it has noted some app-based communication services using Indian mobile numbers for customer identification or service delivery enable users to utilize their offerings without having the corresponding Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) active in the device where the app-based services operate.

This functionality is being exploited for cyber fraud, particularly by those operating from outside the country.

The matter of SIM binding in messaging applications and its improper use has been brought up by various government bodies and agencies, along with an inter-ministerial group.

On this topic, the DoT has held several discussions with leading app-based communication services regarding feasibility and significance. This includes platforms such as WhatsApp, Telegram, Snapchat, Arattai, Sharechat, Josh, Jiochat, and Signal.

“In light of the severity of the issue, the DoT issued Directions to major App-Based Communication Services on November 28 under the amended Telecom Cyber Security (TCS) Rules, 2024 to prevent the misuse of telecommunication identifiers and ensure the integrity and security of the telecom ecosystem,” it stated.

“The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has communicated its directives on November 28 in this context,” the DoT noted in a statement.