Indian Government Issues Clarification Regarding Pre-Installation of Sanchar Saathi App

The Indian tech space is currently buzzing with the news of the pre-installation of the Sanchar Sathi app by smartphone brands. The Government of India (GoI) reportedly ordered popular vendors to not only pre-install the app on their new phones, but also to make it impossible to delete. Now, the Department of Telecommunications has issued a clarification regarding the fiasco.

Union Minister confirms Sanchar Sathi is optional

In a statement issued to Asian News International (ANI), the Union Minister of Communication, Jyotiraditya Scindia, has clarified that while brands are mandated to pre-install Sanchar Sathi on their phones, users will be free to remove the app.

He has further added that just like any other smartphone application, users will have full control to activate and deactivate the Sanchar Sathi app. They will also be able to uninstall it if they do not wish to have it on their smartphone.

I want to clear all misconceptions... It is our duty to introduce this app to everyone. Keeping it on their devices or not is up upto the user... It can be deleted from the mobile phone just like any other app...

— Jyotiraditya Scindia, Union Minister of Communication

This comes as a relief, since many citizens in India felt this to be an invasive move and raised questions regarding consumer rights and Government surveillance. Even Reuters reported that Apple is planning to challenge the Government's mandate and is not going to comply with the directive, citing potential privacy and security issues related to the iOS ecosystem.

For those unaware, the Sanchar Sathi app was recently launched by the Department of Telecommunication to help users verify the authenticity of their smartphones. Its main purpose is to block and disable stolen phones, authenticate the device's IMEI and report fraud and stolen mobile numbers.

As per official Government data, the app has already helped recover more than 700,000 lost phones and block over 30 million fake or suspicious mobile connections so far. So, it is clear that with the Sanchar Sathi app, the Government wants to curb digital malpractices. However, the way this is being approached raises a lot of questions and creates public dissent.