The Morning Brief Explaining the Govt’s U-Turn on its Sanchar Saathi App
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Dec 4, 2025 Kiran Rathi, Telecom vertical head at The Economic Times, Nikhil Narendran, a partner at Tri-Legal specializing in data protection law, and TV Ramachandran, President of the Broadband India Forum, dive into the controversial Sanchar Saathi app. They discuss how outdated surveillance laws allowed the government to overreach, the pushback from big companies like Apple, and the implications of forced SIM binding. The conversation exposes significant privacy concerns and explores what reforms are needed to protect citizens in the digital age.
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Mandate Revealed Bigger Problems
- The Sanchar Saathi pre-install mandate was announced then quietly withdrawn after industry and privacy pushback.
- The episode argues the app revealed deeper legal and surveillance problems beyond the U-turn.
App Usage And Claimed Impact
- Kiran Rathi shared usage numbers showing 1.4 crore downloads and millions of fraud checks and recoveries.
- The government claims the app prevented ₹475 crore in potential losses.
Backtrack Due To Practical Pushback
- The government rolled back the pre-install rule after manufacturers and privacy activists raised practical and surveillance concerns.
- Apple and handset makers' resistance made the mandate infeasible, forcing a voluntary approach.