India has launched a new portal to tackle mobile theft and smuggling in the country. The Sanchar Saathi Portal (CEIR) was launched by Union Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnav on World Telecom Day, May 17th, and will enable people to block and track their stolen or lost mobile phones.
Developed by the Center for Department of Telematics (C-DOT), the portal has been piloted in some telecom offices across Delhi, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and the North East region. C-DOT CEO and Chairman Rajkumar Upadhyay has said that the system is now ready to be rolled out across India in the coming months.
The Sanchar Saathi portal has an in-built mechanism to investigate mobile smuggling, which will help curb the illegal practice. It will also be able to track and block devices even after the IMEI number has been changed, a common tactic used by criminals to avoid being caught.
According to media reports, the portal has already blocked around 4.70 lakh lost or stolen mobiles, and has tracked more than 2.40 lakh devices. In addition, the portal has helped to recover around 8000 lost mobile phones, including 2500 recovered by the Karnataka police.
The launch of the Sanchar Saathi portal is expected to bring relief to millions of mobile phone users in India, who have been grappling with the problem of mobile theft and smuggling for years. With the new system in place, people will have a better chance of recovering their stolen or lost devices, and criminals will find it harder to smuggle mobiles.
Instructions on how to track a lost or stolen phone:
1.Go to the official website of CEIR at https://ceir.gov.in/.
2. Click on the "Block/Stolen: Lost Mobile" option on the homepage.
3. Fill out all the required information.
4. Make a self-declaration by clicking the checkbox indicating that the information you have provided is correct to the best of your knowledge, then submit the information.
5. Save the Request ID provided to you after submitting your information.
6. Use the Request ID to check the status of your request and track your lost or stolen phone on the CEIR portal. You can modify your request as needed by using the provided options.
Note that you should also report the theft or loss of your mobile phone to the nearest police station as soon as possible.