The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has issued new rules for all mobile handsets in India, effective November 28. The directive makes it mandatory for all manufacturers and importers to pre-install the government-owned Sanchar Saathi app on devices intended for use in India.
The implementation must be completed within 90 days, and a compliance report has to be filed within 120 days. Major smartphone brands like Apple, Samsung, Vivo, Oppo, and Xiaomi will be impacted by this move. Sanchar Saathi will need to be visible during the first device setup, and manufacturers must push the app via software updates for phones already in circulation.
The app helps users verify IMEI numbers, report lost or stolen phones, and check for non-genuine devices. Government figures show the Sanchar Saathi app, launched in January, has helped recover more than 700,000 lost phones, including 50,000 in October alone.
The directive also targets issues such as duplicate or spoofed IMEI numbers in India’s large second-hand smartphone market. However, privacy advocates have criticised the latest move, with some calling it dictatorial in nature.