India, Dec. 2 -- Union minister for communications Jyotiraditya Scindia clarified that the Sanchar Saathi app, which the government wants mandatorily pre-loaded on all phones, can be deleted by the user. He was speaking a day after the Indian government's directive to smartphone makers ignited privacy concerns.

"If you don't want Sanchar Saathi, you can delete it. It is optional," Scindia told news agency ANI.

"It is our duty to introduce this app to everyone. Keeping it in their devices or not, is up to the user," he further said.

Earlier in the day, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s MP Shashank Mani Tripathi defended the Department of Telecommunications' (DoT) move to mandate the Sanchar Saathi app be pre-installed on mobile ...