India’s SIM-binding mandate for messaging apps could add operating burdens for businesses, while most surveyed companies doubt it will significantly improve platform security, Esya Centre said.
The think tank’s report, published Oct. 14, 2026, drew on responses from 353 businesses and 2,033 consumers. Esya Centre said 81% of business respondents and 59% of consumers did not expect SIM binding to meaningfully strengthen messaging security. Its announcement also said 41% of consumers would consider obtaining another SIM if the mandate were implemented.
Separately, Hindustan Times and ET Edge reported that 87.2% of surveyed businesses were concerned about SIM-related fraud. On the potential operating impact, 83.5% of businesses anticipated delays and errors, 60.6% expected higher occupancy costs, 58.6% expected to need additional devices and 55% foresaw increased staffing needs. Esya Centre said its survey assessed the directive before the automatic logout requirement was removed, so these figures reflect expected effects under an earlier version of the rules, not costs already incurred.
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) issued directions on Nov. 28, 2025, to WhatsApp, Telegram, Snapchat, Arattai, Sharechat, Josh, Jiochat and Signal. The services were told to keep covered accounts connected to the specific active SIM in the device. DoT said it was responding to cases in which apps remained usable without the associated SIM, which it said had created an opening for cyberfraud, including activity by operators outside India. The department cited traceability and telecom cybersecurity as aims.
The initial directions also required web sessions to end at least every six hours, followed by QR-code relinking. A later written reply to the Rajya Sabha set Dec. 31, 2026, as the compliance deadline and said web-session logouts should be determined by risk, without a fixed interval.
A 2024 study by the Indian School of Business (ISB), the Telangana State Police’s Centre of Excellence for Cyber Security and the Telangana Cyber Security Bureau examined 1,600 customer acquisition forms from Hyderabad and Telangana. It identified gaps in e-KYC and d-KYC, including a lack of real-time photo checks and cases in which agents issued connections without verifying identity or address documents. Shruti Mantri, associate director of the ISB Institute of Data Science, separately called for technological advances, vigilance and regulatory cooperation in tackling SIM-subscription fraud.
