SAMBHAV Phones: How India’s Indigenous Mobile Tech Supported Operation Sindoor

The Indian Army has confirmed that it deployed its indigenously developed secure mobile ecosystem, SAMBHAV (Secure Army Mobile Bharat Version), during Operation Sindoor. Chief of the Army Staff, General Upendra Dwivedi, revealed this while speaking at the AIMA’s 52nd National Management Convention, adding that the Army is now preparing for an upgraded version of the system.

“We are ready for accepting spiral development of equipment. SAMBHAV phone was used in Operation Sindoor for command and communication. We were not using WhatsApp and others. We are now upgrading it to a higher level,” Gen Dwivedi said.

He described Operation Sindoor as a coordinated effort involving soldiers, commanders, scientists, and policymakers. “It was an amalgam… required actions taken in a pre-emptive manner. It was a whole-of-nation approach,” he noted. Earlier in August, he had called it a landmark, intelligence-driven operation that redefined India’s counter-terrorism doctrine.

What is SAMBHAV?

SAMBHAV has been built under the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative as a fully secure mobile communication ecosystem. Introduced in January 2024, SAMBHAV runs on 5G-ready devices and comes with multi-layered encryption to keep every communication secure. The system is designed to work seamlessly across networks, ensuring the Army stays connected at all times.

One of its most notable features is M-Sigma, a homegrown messaging app created as a secure alternative to WhatsApp. With it, officers can share documents, images, and videos without worrying about leaks or interception.

Created in partnership with leading research centres and industry experts, SAMBHAV has already found wide acceptance within the Army. So far, defence officials say nearly 30,000 devices have already been rolled out. In fact, these phones were even put to use during the last round of military talks with China in October 2024.

With an upgrade now in the works, SAMBHAV is shaping up to be far more than just a secure phone system.