In order to safeguard the citizens from buying the non-genuine handsets, enabling easy reporting of suspected misuse of telecom resources and to increase effectiveness of the Sanchar Saathi initiative, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has issued directions dated November 28, 2025 mandating the manufacturer and importers of mobile handsets that are intended for use in India under the provisions of the telecom cyber security to:
- Ensure that the Sanchar Saathi mobile application is pre-installed on all mobile handsets manufactured or imported for use in India.
- Ensure that the pre-installed Sanchar Saathi application is readily visible and accessible to the end users at the time of first use or device setup and that its functionalities are not disabled or restricted.
- For all such devices that have already been manufactured and are in sales channels in India, the manufacturer and importers of mobile handsets shall make an endeavour to push the App through software updates.
Directions mandates to complete the implementation in 90 days and submit the report in 120 days.
