Union Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia earlier in the day sought to assuage concerns in Parliament and said that the Sanchar Saathi app does not have any surveillance capability and will not be activated unless a user decides to register.
Earlier, in a press release issued on Monday, the Centre said that in order to safeguard citizens from buying non-genuine handsets, enable easy reporting of suspected misuse of telecom resources and to increase effectiveness of the Sanchar Saathi initiative, the DoT is mandating manufacturers and importers of mobile handsets that are intended for use in India to ensure that the Sanchar Saathi mobile application is pre-installed on all mobile handsets manufactured or imported for use in India.
Citizens are advised to use Sanchar Saathi Mobile App and portal to verify and secure their mobile connections and handsets, the Ministry of Communications said on Monday.
