Lost or stolen phone? Don't worry! This government portal will find your handset..

Losing a mobile phone is a big hassle. But an initiative by the Government of India can help you track and get your phone back. The Sanchar Saathi portal, launched by the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) under the Department of Telecommunications, helps you block, track, and recover your lost or stolen mobile phone through its Central Equipment Identity Register (CIER) system. Since its launch, the portal has blocked millions of smartphones and traced millions of mobile devices, of which more than 4 lakh phones have been returned to their rightful owners.

How to track and recover a lost phone?

To track and recover a phone, users need to get a duplicate SIM from their telecom provider, file a complaint with the police, and then visit the Sanchar Saathi portal.

Follow these steps to register a complaint on the portal:

Go to https://www.ceir.gov.in/.

Click on Block/Stolen mobile on the homepage.

On the next page, enter the mobile's IMEI number, complaint details, Aadhaar-linked address, and an alternate contact number.

After registration, the system sends an alert to the police, cybercrime units and telecom operators.

If the stolen or lost phone is used again - either with the same SIM or a new one - an alert is triggered on the network, allowing the system to track and recover the phone.

"The key is to report early. The sooner the registration is done, the sooner the system will be able to track the phone before it is handed over to someone else or sent abroad," says C-DOT.

According to data from the CIER portal, Delhi (NCR) tops the list with over 7.9 lakh cases, followed by Maharashtra with 4.18 lakh cases, Karnataka with 3.90 lakh cases and Lakshadweep with the least number of cases at just 11.

Disclaimer: This content has been sourced and edited from Dainik Jagran. While we have made modifications for clarity and presentation, the original content belongs to its respective authors and website. We do not claim ownership of the content.