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Source: The post is based on the article “Union Minister launches Sanchar Saathi portal” published in PIB on 17th May 2023
What is the News?
The Union Minister of Communications has launched the Sanchar Saathi portal.
What is Sanchar Saathi Portal?
Sanchar Saathi portal is a citizen-centric initiative of the Department of Telecommunications to empower mobile subscribers, strengthen their security and increase awareness about citizen-centric initiatives of the Government.
The portal allows citizens to: 1) Check the connections registered on their names, 2) Report fraudulent or unrequired connections, 3) Block the mobile phones which are stolen/lost and 4) Check IMEI genuineness before buying a mobile phone.
Modules: The portal has the following modules:
Centralized Equipment Identity Register(CEIR)
Know Your Mobile: It facilitates the citizens to check the genuineness of IMEI on their mobile devices.
Telecom Analytics for Fraud Management and Consumer Protection (TAFCOP): It facilitates a user to check the number of mobile connections taken in her/his name using paper-based documents.
– User enters her mobile number on the portal and authenticates using OTP. The system shows the total connections taken in her name using paper-based documents (such as paper-based Aadhar, passport, etc.).
– The system allows users to report fraudulent connections. It also allows users to block the connections which are not required.
– Once reported by the users, the system triggers a re-verification process, and the connections are terminated.
ASTR (Artificial Intelligence and Facial Recognition powered Solution for Telecom SIM Subscriber Verification): Mobile connections obtained using fake/ forged documents are used for cyber-frauds.
– To curb this menace, the Department of Telecom has developed an AI-powered tool – ASTR to identify SIMs issued using fraudulent/forged documents.
– ASTR detects individuals who have registered more than 9 mobile connections – the maximum allowed currently – to verify whether they have been created using legitimate means.
– For this, ASTR uses various techniques of facial recognition and data analytics to identify.
