Why is it in the news?

• The Sanchar Saathi portal, launched by the Department of Telecommunications, has garnered an impressive response since its inception, with nearly 11 lakhs reported lost or stolen mobiles being blocked.
• Notably, half of these blocked mobiles were successfully traced and returned to their owners, highlighting the portal’s effectiveness in recovering lost devices.

About the Portal

• Aim is to empower mobile subscribers, strengthen their security, and increase awareness about citizen-centric initiatives of the Government.

Services Provided by the Portal

• Know the mobile connections issued in the user’s name.
• Disconnect connections not required by the user.
• Block/trace lost mobile phones.
• Check the genuineness of devices when buying a new/old mobile phone.

Modules under the Portal

• CEIR (Central Equipment Identity Register): Facilitates tracing and blocking of lost/stolen mobile devices. Generates traceability if anyone tries to use a blocked mobile phone. Once found, a mobile phone can be unblocked on the portal for normal use.
• TAFCOP (Telecom Analytics for Fraud Control and Consumer Protection): Facilitates a mobile subscriber to check the number of mobile connections taken in their name. Allows users to report mobile connections that are not required or not taken by the subscriber.