Photo courtesy: Freepik.com
New Delhi: Marking a major stride in enhancing digital safety, the Department of Telecommunications’ (DoT) flagship initiative, Sanchar Saathi, has successfully facilitated the recovery of over 6 lakh lost and stolen mobile handsets across India. This milestone marks a significant step forward in the government’s mission to ensure a secure digital ecosystem under the Digital India vision.
The ‘Block Your Lost/Stolen Mobile Handset’ service, a key feature of the Sanchar Saathi platform, empowers users to report, block, trace, and even unblock their lost or stolen mobile phones in real time. By integrating Telecom Service Providers (TSPs), State/UT police departments, and the DoT, the system ensures immediate action and nationwide blocking of reported devices to prevent misuse.
One Phone Recovered Every Minute
Demonstrating the efficiency of the platform, Sanchar Saathi is currently enabling the recovery of one mobile phone every minute. Monthly recoveries surged from 28,115 in January 2025 to 45,243 in August 2025 — a 61% increase in just eight months. This rising trend reflects greater public awareness and improved coordination between law enforcement and telecom operators.
How It Works
When a citizen reports a phone as lost or stolen:
• The handset is blocked across all telecom networks.
• If a SIM card is inserted into the blocked device, an automated traceability alert is sent to both the registered police station and the citizen.
• The system also shares details of the police station handling the complaint via SMS, enabling faster coordination for recovery.
The success of Sanchar Saathi underlines the government's commitment to citizen-centric digital governance. It not only deters mobile-related fraud but also restores digital access and security to individuals. Field units of DoT are actively working with police departments nationwide, conducting capacity-building programs to streamline device recovery efforts.
Since its launch in May 2023, Sanchar Saathi has emerged as India’s most robust digital safety tool, with:
• Over 19 crore website visits
• 90 lakh+ app downloads
Key Pillar of Digital India
Sanchar Saathi exemplifies Jan Bhagidari (citizen participation) in governance. By leveraging collaborative technology, it contributes significantly to building a cyber-secure Digital Bharat, aligning with the broader goals of the Digital India initiative.
Citizens can access the service at www.sancharsaathi.gov.in to report and recover their lost or stolen devices with ease.