Chakshu facility of Sanchar Saathi enables citizens to report suspected fraud communications under various categories

1. At a Glance

• Chakshu is a citizen-facing reporting facility on the Sanchar Saathi portal/app of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Ministry of Communications, for flagging suspected fraud communications via call/SMS/WhatsApp [1][2].
• Operates alongside the Digital Intelligence Platform (DIP) — a back-end inter-agency intelligence-sharing system for telecom-resource misuse in cyber-financial fraud [1].
• Tests citizen-state coproduction in cyber-fraud prevention; relevant for GS-II (governance, e-governance) and GS-III (internal security, cyber-crime).

2. Why in the News

• 5 February 2026: MoS Communications Dr Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar, in a written Rajya Sabha reply, disclosed cumulative outcomes — 39.43 lakh mobile connections disconnected, 2.27 lakh handsets blacklisted, 1.31 lakh SMS templates blacklisted on the basis of 7.7 lakh citizen inputs via Chakshu [1][3].

3. Background & Evolution

• Sanchar Saathi portal: launched May 2023 by DoT (citizen-centric telecom security suite — CEIR for lost phones, TAFCOP for connections in your name, Know Your Mobile, etc.) [2].
• Chakshu: launched on Sanchar Saathi portal on 4 March 2024 by Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, together with the Digital Intelligence Platform (DIP) for stakeholder coordination [2].
• Sanchar Saathi Mobile App: launched January 2025; crossed 50 lakh downloads within ~6 months [4].

4. Core Static Facts

• Parent Ministry: Ministry of Communications → Department of Telecommunications (DoT) [1].
• Web portal: www.sancharsaathi.gov.in; also delivered through Sanchar Saathi mobile app [1].
• Statutory backdrop: Telecommunications Act, 2023 (telecom-resource misuse provisions); complements IT Act, 2000 and BNS, 2023 cyber-fraud provisions.
• Categories citizens can report on Chakshu [1][2]:
• Fake customer-care helplines; IVR/robo calls.
• Impersonation as DoT/TRAI/Police/CBI/Customs/Aadhaar/RBI officials.
• KYC expiry/update frauds (bank, wallet, SIM, gas, electricity).
• Investment/stock-market/trading scams.
• Sextortion; impersonation as relative for money transfer.

• Online job, lottery, gift, loan-offer frauds.

• DIP onboarding: 1,200+ organisations including central security agencies, 36 State/UT police, I4C (MHA), 1,100 banks, UPI providers, PSOs, TSPs, WhatsApp [1].

• Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI): stakeholder-reported prevention of fraud worth ₹1,000+ crore via transaction declines/alerts [1].

5. Multi-Dimensional Analysis

Administrative / Governance

• Whole-of-government model: DoT (telecom) + I4C under MHA + RBI-regulated banks + private OTT (WhatsApp) on a single intelligence rail [1].
• Crowdsourced inputs (7.7 lakh) drive enforcement actions (disconnections/blacklisting) — citizen as sensor [1][3].

Legal / Constitutional

• Disconnection powers flow from Telecommunications Act, 2023 and licensing conditions; raises Article 21 / Puttaswamy (2017) privacy concerns over telecom-side surveillance.
• Blacklisting of IMEIs under CEIR rules (notified 2017, operationalised 2023).

Scientific / Technological

• DIP integrates AI/ML analytics on CDRs, IMEI, SMS templates, banking signatures; FRI scores risk on payment rails in near-real time [1].
• AI-based Spam Detection and International Incoming Spoofed Calls Prevention System are companion DoT tools.

Social

• Targets demographically vulnerable users — elderly, semi-urban, first-time digital users — disproportionately hit by KYC/impersonation scams.
• Linguistic accessibility via Sanchar Saathi mobile app is critical for reach.

Economic

• Cyber-financial fraud losses reported to I4C / NCRP crossed ₹11,000 crore in H1 2024 (MHA data); FRI-driven prevention of ₹1,000+ crore is a measurable dividend [1].

6. Recent Developments (last 12-18 months)

• Jan 2025: Sanchar Saathi mobile app launched (Android/iOS) [2].
• Mid-2025: 50 lakh app downloads in ~6 months [4].
• 5 Feb 2026: Cumulative figures tabled in Rajya Sabha — 39.43 lakh disconnections, 2.27 lakh handsets blacklisted, 1.31 lakh SMS templates blacklisted [1].

7. Prelims Hooks

• Chakshu is hosted on the Sanchar Saathi portal — implementing body is DoT, not MeitY or I4C [1].
• Chakshu launched on 4 March 2024 along with Digital Intelligence Platform (DIP) [2].
• Sanchar Saathi portal launched May 2023; mobile app launched January 2025 [2][4].
• 39.43 lakh mobile connections disconnected (cumulative, as of Feb 2026) [1].
• 2.27 lakh mobile handsets blacklisted; 1.31 lakh SMS headers/templates blacklisted [1].
• 7.7 lakh citizen inputs received via Chakshu [1].
• 1,200+ organisations onboarded on DIP, including 1,100 banks and 36 State/UT police forces [1].
• I4C (Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre) is under MHA, integrated with DIP [1].
• Financial fraud prevented via FRI mechanism: ₹1,000+ crore [1].
• Statutory anchor: Telecommunications Act, 2023.
• Other Sanchar Saathi modules: CEIR, TAFCOP, Know Your Mobile, Report Incoming International Call.
• The Feb 2026 reply was tabled by MoS Dr Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar in Rajya Sabha [1].

8. Mains Relevance

• GS-II — Governance: e-governance, citizen-centric service delivery, regulator-citizen interface.
• GS-III — Internal Security: challenges of cyber-security, money laundering linkages, role of media and social-networking sites in internal security challenges.
• Possible question stems:
• "Citizen-sourced intelligence is reshaping India's cyber-fraud response. Examine the role of Sanchar Saathi and Chakshu in this paradigm."
• "Discuss the inter-agency coordination architecture against cyber-financial fraud in India, with reference to DIP, I4C and FRI."
• "Telecom-resource misuse is the new frontier of organised crime. Analyse the institutional and statutory response post the Telecommunications Act, 2023."

9. Related Topics to Study Next

• Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) — MHA's apex cyber-crime body that consumes Chakshu intelligence.
• National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (cybercrime.gov.in) & 1930 helpline — citizen-facing financial fraud reporting.
• Telecommunications Act, 2023 — statutory base for disconnections and DIP.
• CERT-In under MeitY — incident response counterpart.
• DPDP Act, 2023 — privacy obligations on data shared via DIP.
• CEIR (Central Equipment Identity Register) — IMEI blacklisting mechanism.
• RBI's Digital Payments Intelligence Platform (proposed 2024) — payments-side analogue.
• Puttaswamy judgment (2017) — privacy frame for telecom surveillance.

10. Common Errors / Trap Areas

• Wrong ministry: Chakshu is under DoT (MoC), not MeitY and not MHA's I4C.
• Confusing portals: Chakshu (fraud comms reporting) ≠ cybercrime.gov.in (financial loss reporting) ≠ 1930 helpline.
• Year confusion: Sanchar Saathi portal — 2023; Chakshu module — March 2024; mobile app — January 2025.
• DIP ≠ Chakshu: DIP is a B2G back-end intelligence platform; Chakshu is the citizen-input front-end.
• FRI is an RBI-flagged risk indicator pushed to banks via DIP — not a separate citizen portal.