Minister Now Says Mobile Tracking App Will Be Voluntary; This is an Era of War, Mr Modi; UP Encounter Claim Entangles Police; India's Current Account Deficit Widens

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Snapshot of the day

December 2, 2025

Amid severe criticism following the Union Ministry of Communications’ move to direct smartphone makers and importers to pre-install a government-owned cyber security app, Sanchar Saathi, on all new devices and ensure that users cannot delete it, the Union minister for communications Jyotiraditya Scindia told reporters that the app will be “optional.” “You can activate or deactivate call monitoring as per your wish. If you want to keep it on your phone, keep it. If you want to delete it, then do so,” Scindia said in Hindi outside the parliament today. Echoing Scindia, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said the app had “so far helped detect and disconnect about 1.75 crore fraudulent mobile connections, trace close to 26 lakh stolen/missing phones, and recover 7.5 lakh phones.” He also claimed the app was developed in consultation with “stakeholders”.

While Scindia said that the app will remain optional, Srinivas Kodali notes that “what starts as voluntary can quickly become mandatory in India.” Besides, the government’s own statement on the Press Information Bureau’s website said that the directions had to be complied with. It also highlighted provisions of the Telecom Cyber Security Rules to ask phone makers to ensure that the app remains pre-installed and that it cannot be disabled.

Meanwhile, Apple has reportedly refused to comply with the Modi government’s confidential directive to pre-install the state-owned cybersecurity app on its devices and plans to formally raise its concerns with New Delhi, reports Reuters citing sources. Two sources familiar with Apple’s position said the company will privately communicate its objections but does not plan to take the matter to court or make a public statement, with one source describing the order as “not just a sledgehammer, but a double-barrel gun.” The government had instructed Apple, Samsung and Xiaomi to ensure that the app is preloaded on all smartphones within 90 days.

(Courtesy: @PenPencilDraw)

Each time the Modi government touts its “cybersecurity” measures, reality tells a different story. As Soumashree Sarkar points out, crores of Indians’ personal data – from Aadhaar to health records – have been exposed. In 2023 alone, the ICMR data leak compromised information of over 81 crore citizens, raising serious doubts about the government’s ability to protect our data.

In a draft version of the Election Commission’s June 24 order regarding the special intensive revision of voter rolls in Bihar – and announcing its intent to conduct the exercise in the rest of India – the poll panel had justified the SIR by saying that no intensive revision has been carried out after the 1955 Citizenship Act was amended effective 2004 (this emendation excluded the