September 30, 2025, New Delhi — The Department of Telecommunications’ flagship citizen-centric initiative “Sanchar Saathi” has crossed a major milestone by facilitating recovery of over 6 lakh lost and stolen mobile handsets through its ‘Block Your Lost/Stolen Mobile Handset’ facility.
The Ministry of Communications announced that this achievement underscores the government’s commitment to protecting citizens’ digital assets and demonstrates the power of collaborative technology in combating cybercrime.
The facility integrates DoT, Telecom Service Providers, and State/UT police in real-time manner. Built on the theme of ‘Digital by Design’, the platform is helping recover one phone per minute, the ministry stated.
The ‘Block Your Lost/Stolen Mobile Handset’ facility empowers citizens to report, block, trace, or unblock lost or stolen mobile handsets across all Indian telecom networks. Reported devices are blocked in telecom networks on pan-India basis to prevent any misuse.
When any SIM is used with a lost or stolen mobile handset, automated traceability is generated and an alert is sent to the citizen as well as the concerned police station where the complaint was registered.
Citizens receive details of the police station to be contacted through generated traceability via SMS. Field units of DoT continuously collaborate with law enforcement through capacity-building initiatives, ensuring traced devices are efficiently recovered and returned to rightful owners.
The recovery rate has shown consistent improvement, with monthly recoveries increasing from 28,115 in January 2025 to 45,243 in August 2025 – representing a 61% increase over eight months.
“The crossing of 6 lakh recoveries represents more than just numbers – it reflects the restoration of digital security for hundreds of thousands of Indian families. Each recovered device represents prevented fraud, restored communication, and reinforced trust in our digital ecosystem,” the ministry stated.
The milestone reinforces the government’s vision of a secure digital ecosystem where technology serves as an enabler for citizen empowerment and safety.
The initiative exemplifies the spirit of Jan Bhagidari (citizen participation) in governance, demonstrating how collaborative efforts between government, technology, and citizens can create meaningful impact in protecting digital assets and preventing cybercrime.