India’s digital safety platform Sanchar Saathi is gaining momentum, with monthly recoveries rising 47 per cent between June and October 2025, culminating in over 50,000 handsets retrieved last month.
In a major boost to the Digital India programme’s objective of securing citizens’ digital assets and strengthening public trust in technology‑driven governance, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has announced that its digital safety initiative, Sanchar Saathi, enabled the recovery of over 50,000 lost and stolen mobile handsets across India in October 2025.
With this achievement, the overall recovery nationwide has crossed the 700,000 milestone since the app was launched in May 2023.
Karnataka and Telangana have emerged as top‑performing states, each crossing 100,000 recoveries, while Maharashtra follows with over 80,000. Monthly recoveries have surged by 47 per cent between June and October 2025, underlining the system’s growing efficiency and reach. On average, more than one handset is being recovered every minute across the country.
“At the core of this achievement is a robust, indigenously developed platform, integrating automated workflows and real‑time device traceability. Sanchar Saathi’s advanced technology prevents the misuse of blocked devices. When a SIM is inserted into a reported handset, the system triggers alerts to both the registered citizen and the relevant police station, enabling faster and more efficient recovery,” a DoT statement said on Tuesday.
This success is the result of seamless collaboration. Police personnel across states, the DoT’s Digital Intelligence Unit (DIU) and Licensed Service Areas (LSAs) or field formations have worked in close coordination to ensure devices are efficiently traced and returned to their rightful owners. Regular capacity‑building programmes and partnerships with state police forces have been critical in strengthening on‑ground response and operational excellence.
DoT has also urged citizens to download the Sanchar Saathi app to report and block lost or stolen mobile devices, verify the genuineness of new or old handsets, and report suspected fraudulent calls or messages. The app also allows users to cross‑check trusted contact details of banks and financial institutions, further enhancing digital safety nationwide.