Central Government steps back from its decision on the Sanchar Saathi app!

The Central Government has withdrawn its directive that made the Sanchar Saathi app mandatory for pre-installation on all smartphones. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) announced on Wednesday that it is revoking the order issued to mobile phone manufacturers.

The DoT stated that the number of people voluntarily installing the app has been rising rapidly, which prompted the decision. A formal announcement was released on Wednesday evening.

According to the DoT, “Our intention behind mandating pre-installation was to ensure that even people with limited awareness could easily access the app. On Tuesday alone, six lakh people downloaded the Sanchar Saathi app - a tenfold increase. Downloads continued to rise, and so far, 1.5 crore users have installed it. Given the strong public response, the government has decided to withdraw the mandatory pre-installation directive”.