Communication Services

<ul><li>Our country is celebrating #AzadiKaAmritMahotsav for celebrating 75 years of independence and making big strides towards the goal of #DigitalIndia. In the tough times of the covid-19 pandemic, the telecommunications network is acting as a lifeline for keeping everyone connected everywhere and every time. But at the same time, malicious elements are using telecom resources for fraudulent, anti-social and anti-national activities. National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), MHA in its 2020 annual report has revealed that India recorded 50,035 cases of cybercrime in 2020, with an 11.8% surge in such offenses over the previous year. In terms of motive, the maximum 60.2% of cyber crimes lodged in 2020 were done for fraud (30,142 out of 50,035 cases). SIMs subscribed on forged documents and in third party&rsquo;s names are involved in the majority of these cybercrimes as well as conventional crimes like extortion, dacoity, kidnapping, hoax and threat calls, etc., owing to the anonymity and intractability of these SIMs. &nbsp;It is pertinent to mention that India lost Rs 1.25 lakh crores due to cybercrimes in the years 2019-20.<br /><br /></li><li>The Law Enforcement Agencies and Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Government of India have also reported that major cyber-crime fraud networks are operating from regions like Jamtara, Mewat etc. areas of the country. Such syndicates are a direct threat to national security, public law &amp;order, and public safety.<br /><br /></li><li>Under Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsavand Cyber Swachh Bharat, DoT Haryana LSA has carried out a massive cleaning operation of identifying and weeding out the fraudulent SIMs subscribed in the Mewat region of Haryana. LSA offices are the field units of the department of telecommunications (DoT), Government of India which work closely with law enforcement agencies in matters related to National Security.<br /><br /></li><li>Under the initiative, Haryana LSA has carried out 100% SIM subscriber verification of Mewat Region, Haryana.&nbsp;This is a first-of-a-kind initiative launched anywhere in the country.&nbsp;The complete SIM base of Mewat, comprising 16.69 lakh SIM subscribers was analyzed using NextGen Technologies &ndash; Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Big Data Analytics. Necessary instructions for re-verification were given to all TSPs &ndash; Airtel, BSNL, Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea for filtering out mobile numbers. As of result of this massive and targeted cleanup exercise, approximately 4.27 lakh fraudulent SIM subscribers of Mewat, Haryana have been disconnected across all TSPs. Appropriate legal action is also being initiated against the perpetrators.<br /><br /></li><li>Dr. Mahesh Shukla, Sr. Deputy Director General and Head of Haryana LSA told, &ldquo;As a result of this massive cleanup exercise, the cyber frauds, crimes and other illegal activities using SIMs have drastically reduced in Mewat, Haryana. The operation will be carried out across Haryana LSA for filtering all non-bonafide SIMs. DoT stands committed to providing a robust and secure telecommunication ecosystem for achieving the goal of Digital India under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. &ldquo;</li></ul>