The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has taken over the process to issue and manage international mobile equipment identity (IMEI) allocation for mobile phones in India from the private body, Mobile Standards Alliance of India (MSAI).
In this development, the government has decided to replace the MSAI operated system with Indian Counterfeited Device Restriction (ICDR) system.
The ICDR system has been developed by the Centre for Development of Telematics under research and devolvement unit of DoT, for implementing the standard operating procedures.
The new system has been operationalised on a pilot basis on the web portal of Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR).
The IMEI number is a unique 15-digit serial number of mobile devices allocated by global industry body GSMA and organisations authorised by it. When a mobile phone is lost, the victim is required to mention the IMEI number of the handset for tracking.
