New Delhi, Nov. 3 -- The Indian government's plan to introduce a new provision requiring both physical and digital SIM cards to be linked to messaging apps has sparked opposition from businesses and consumers, as it will not make any significant difference to cybersecurity, a new study by the think tank Esya Centre has concluded.

The report, titled "Rethinking India's SIM Binding Mandate: An Empirical Assessment", investigates the possible implications of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) order on users, businesses, and digital security.

The study, which polled 2,033 consumers in 18 cities and 353 businesses in 17 cities, identified several problems, including communication disruption, increased operational costs, and the effec...