IIT Mandi Students Honoured for Outstanding Contribution to ‘Sanchar Mitra’ Initiative

Shimla, May 5:
The Himachal Pradesh Telecom Licensing Service Area (LSA) has recognized three students from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mandi for their exemplary contribution to the Department of Telecommunications’ (DoT) citizen-centric initiative, Sanchar Mitra. The students were awarded certificates of appreciation for their active role in promoting telecom safety and digital awareness.

Selected in March 2024, the students—Anuranjan Jha, N.V. Divya Lakshmi, and Rizwana Bano—served as “Public Outreach Ambassadors” under the program until February 2025. During this period, they led awareness campaigns educating citizens about mobile security, fraud prevention, and the use of the Sanchar Saathi portal.

Their outreach focused on alerting the public to threats like OTP fraud, phishing scams, fake mobile apps, and digital arrest hoaxes. They also demonstrated how to use the Sanchar Saathi portal (https://sancharsaathi.gov.in) to report stolen mobile phones, block SIM cards, check for connections issued in their name, and lodge complaints against fraudulent calls.

Commending their efforts, the Department of Telecommunications noted that the students played a vital role in promoting digital literacy and restoring public trust in telecom services.