Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia lauds Sanchar Saathi's record recovery of over 75,000 lost and stolen mobile handsets in one month.
Distilled Policy Brief
- The Sanchar Saathi initiative, developed by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), helped recover over 75,000 lost or stolen mobile handsets across India in a single month.
- Citizens can report missing phones on the Sanchar Saathi portal or app to block them across Indian telecom networks, where any subsequent usage attempt is logged and alerted to local police and citizens for device recovery.
🎯 Prelims High-Yield Examination Points
Understand the role and mechanism of the Sanchar Saathi portal/app managed by the Department of Telecommunications, including device blocking and tracking capabilities across national telecom networks.
⚖️ Mains Analytical & Syllabus Linkages
Examine how technology-led governance platforms like Sanchar Saathi foster inter-agency coordination between telecom authorities and state police to protect citizen digital assets and improve public service delivery.
🎯 UPSC Prelims Practice Drill
With reference to the 'Sanchar Saathi' initiative, consider the following statements: 1. It is a citizen-centric initiative developed by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). 2. Reporting a lost mobile handset on the portal blocks the device across all Indian telecom networks to prevent misuse. 3. Any subsequent attempt to use a reported missing device is logged by the network and alerted to both the citizen and the relevant police station. Which of the statements given above are correct?
- [A] 1 and 2 only
- [B] 2 and 3 only
- [C] 1 and 3 only
- [D] 1, 2 and 3
▶ Reveal Official Answer & Analytical Explanation
All three statements are correct. Sanchar Saathi is a digital governance initiative by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). When citizens report lost or stolen phones on the Sanchar Saathi portal/app, the device is blocked across telecom networks. Any subsequent attempt to use the handset is logged by the network, triggering alerts to both the citizen and local police to assist in device recovery.
🏛️ Historical Twin PYQ Anchor (2021)
Consider the following statements regarding the "National Clean Air Programme (NCAP)": 1. It is implemented by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. 2. Central Pollution Control Board acts as the sole regulatory executive body.