New Delhi, Sep 30 : More than 6 lakh lost and stolen mobile handsets have been recovered on the Department of Telecommunications' (DoT) Sanchar-Saathi initiative, the government said on Tuesday.

The 'Block Your Lost/ Stolen Mobile Handset' facility on the citizen-centric digital safety initiative has crossed a significant milestone, marking a significant outcome reinforcing the citizens' trust in digital governance, according to Ministry of Communications.

This achievement underscores the government's commitment to protecting citizens' digital assets and demonstrates the power of collaborative technology in combating cybercrime.

The facility on Sanchar Saathi integrates DoT, Telecom Service Providers (TSP) and State/ UT police in real-time manner.

'Built on the theme of 'Digital by Design', this facility is helping recover one phone per minute, according to the government.

The facility empowers citizens to report, block, trace, or unblock lost/ stolen mobile across all Indian telecom networks.

Reported lost/ stolen mobile handsets are blocked in telecom networks on pan India basis to prevent any misuse.

'As soon as any SIM is used with such lost/stolen mobile handset, automated traceability is generated and alert is sent to the citizens as well as the Police Station concerned where the complaint for lost/ stolen mobile handset was registered,' according to the government.

Citizens are provided with the details of police station to be contacted in the generated traceability through SMS.

With these efforts, the recovery rate has shown consistent month-on-month improvement, with monthly recoveries increasing from 28,115 in January 2025 to 45,243 in August 2025 ' representing a 61 per cent increase over eight months.

This milestone reinforces the government's vision of a secure digital ecosystem where technology serves as an enabler for citizen empowerment and safety.

Launched in May 2023, Sanchar Saathi has evolved into India's most comprehensive digital safety platform, recording over 19 crore website visits and more than 90 lakh mobile app downloads.

/IANS