The Sanchar Saathi initiative by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has made a significant impact in enhancing telecom security and empowering citizens. Since its launch, the mobile app has crossed 5 million downloads within six months. Recognising the wide linguistic and regional diversity of India, DoT has expanded the app’s accessibility by supporting English, Hindi, and 21 regional languages. Furthermore, reporting of fraudulent calls and messages has been made even more seamless, with users now able to file reports directly from their call and SMS logs in just a few taps.
Similarly, from the time of its launch, the Sanchar Saathi initiative has led to the recovery of over 0.535 million lost or stolen mobile handsets, the disconnection of more than 10 million unauthorised mobile connections based on citizen reports, and the deactivation of over 2.9 million mobile numbers flagged through the Chakshu feature. The Sanchar Saathi portal has witnessed over 167 million visits, reflecting the growing public trust in this citizen-centric digital platform.
Additionally, DoT has also implemented the Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI), which assesses and categorises mobile numbers based on their association with financial fraud risk. This tool enables banks, non- banking financial companies (NBFCs), and unified payments interface (UPI) service providers to take proactive actions to protect consumers. Based on FRI ratings, 34 financial institutions have frozen 1.002 million bank accounts/payment wallets, and imposed debit/credit restrictions on 0.305 million accounts.
Further, building on the success of the portal launched on May 16, 2023, DoT introduced the Sanchar Saathi mobile app on January 17, 2025, offering users direct and convenient access to telecom security services. The app, available on both android and iOS platforms, empowers users to protect their telecom identity and take swift action against potential fraud.
