The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has made it mandatory for mobile phone manufacturers to register the IMEI of all handsets made in India with the government.
The International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) is the 15-digit numbers that uniquely identify each mobile device.
Importers too will have to register with the government the IMEI number of each phone before importing it.
The Communications Ministry had earlier rolled out a Central Equipment Identity Register.
The identity register categorises mobile phones based on their IMEI status in three lists – white, grey and black.