- Why in news
- On 5 October 2026, the Ministry of Communications said the Sanchar Saathi portal has crossed 30 crore visits since its May 2023 launch. It also gave updated figures on handsets recovered and frauds prevented.
- What it is
- Sanchar Saathi is a citizen-facing portal and mobile app built by the Department of Telecommunications. It lets users report fraud calls, check connections in their name, block lost phones and verify handsets by IMEI. Citizen reports feed DoT's wider fraud-prevention framework.
- Chakshu
- Chakshu is the facility to report suspected fraud communication and spam by call, SMS or WhatsApp. It has received 12.80 lakh inputs.
- Lost handset blocking
- A lost handset can be blocked across all operators' networks and traced. 60.96 lakh handsets are blocked, 37.85 lakh traced and over 14 lakh recovered.
- Digital Intelligence Platform
- DIP shares fraud intelligence securely with banks, payment providers, telecom operators and law enforcement. Over 1,600 stakeholders are connected.
Don’t confuse with Sanchar Saathi vs cybercrime.gov.in / 1930: Sanchar Saathi handles telecom misuse such as fraud calls, SIMs and handsets. Victims who have already lost money should report on helpline 1930 or cybercrime.gov.in.
Don’t confuse with Chakshu vs FRI: Chakshu is the citizen reporting facility. FRI is the risk-scoring tool for mobile numbers that uses such reports as one input.
Schemes: 52 Prelims questions since 2013, 10 in Prelims 2026 alone. They test features, the period and who funds it. In Mains, 33 news-triggered questions, mostly GS3.
Why it matters
- Citizen reports become intelligence that lets DoT, banks and police act before fraud spreads.
- It shows jan bhagidari in cyber security through a single public platform.
Problems
- Fraud methods change fast, and many victims do not know of the portal.
- Fraud intelligence must be shared across telecom, banks and police with data privacy safeguards.
Way forward
- Raise awareness in regional languages and among less digitally literate users.
- Improve real-time data sharing among DoT, banks and state police, with clear privacy safeguards.
Put in your answer
Handsets blocked, traced, recovered: 60.96 lakh handsets blocked, 37.85 lakh traced and over 14 lakh recovered, showing the portal's results against theft.
Fraud losses prevented: FRI has helped prevent suspected cyber-fraud losses of over ₹5,000 crore.
Connections disconnected: More than 50 lakh mobile connections were disconnected on the basis of citizen inputs.
- 2019Mains GS3 · Q10Explain CyberDome Project and its usefulness in controlling internet crimes
- 2024Mains GS3 · Q20Security challenges of social media and measures adopted to address them
- 2015Mains GS3 · Q20Critically evaluate National Cyber Security Policy 2013 and implementation challenges
- 2020Prelims Q60Which benefits are covered under cyber insurance for individuals in India
UPSC’s own questions that come close to this issue, from our Prelims and Mains banks.
No practice question for this one; the card may still help an answer. Why: Lasting DoT citizen tool against telecom fraud; features are standing facts, but UPSC has set few questions on such portals, so no practice question.
Worth revising until Prelims 2028: most news questions come within two years of the event.