Facing a wave of public discontent and industry pushback over privacy concerns and allegations of overreach, the Indian government has swiftly backtracked on a controversial policy that mandated smartphone makers to pre-load a government-developed app. On Wednesday (local time), the Indian Department of Telecommunications announced a significant policy shift, stating that the anti-fraud and cybersecurity application, 'Sanchar Saathi,' will now be offered as a voluntary download rather than a pre-installed requirement on new smartphones.
