Delhi: Web portal launched to trace stolen, lost phones

If your mobile phone is stolen or lost, you will get some respite as the Centre on Monday launched a web-portal to enable block, tracking the handset.

The Centre on Monday launched a portal for trace stolen or lost mobile in Delhi. Earlier, the same initiative was launched in Mumbai in September this year. This will be extended to other parts of the country in 2020.

The launch of the portal, www.ceir.gov.in, for Delhi-NCR ( National Capital Region) subscribers will facilitate requests for blocking of stolen or lost mobile phones by customers, blocking of such mobile phones across various mobile networks.

If anybody lost their mobile phone, they can login to the web-portal and register their complaint, along with which they will also have to upload the police complaint and their own ID proof. Based on this, the lost mobile will be blocked. Also if someone uses it, the same can be traced based on the tower signals so the police can also recover the device, Telecom Secretary Anshu Prakash told reporters.

Blocking or tracking of the mobile phone will be done through International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) is the unique identity of mobile phone devices. There is also a software that allows an individual phone to be blocked even if it is on a cloned IMEI number he said.

The project is backed by the Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR) system, which was undertaken by the telecom department for addressing security, theft and other concerns including reprogramming of mobile handsets.

Launching the initiative, Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the initiative is expected to benefit 5 crore mobile subscribers in Delhi and adjoining areas.