Ban on Chinese Mobile in India from April 2009

If you are using cheap Chinese Mobile phone than you are going to face problem from 1 st April 2009. DOT (Department of Telecom) has issued a directive today to mobile operators to ban handsets without IMEI number and to track a call from mobile without IMEI Number. IMEI is International Mobile Equipment Identity which the chinese handsets do not have. This number along with sim number is used to track the user by investigation agencies easily. According to a survey, 25 million cheap chinese cellphones are in India. If the ban is implemented all these cell phones might go to garbage. The ban will come into effect from April 2009. All telecom operator have to reply about this before 15 April 2009.
What is IMEI Number:
The IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) is a unique 15 digit code used to identify an individual mobile station to a GSM or UMTS network. The IMEI number provides an important function; it uniquely identifies a specific mobile phone being used on a mobile network. The IMEI is a useful tool to prevent a stolen handset from accessing a network and being used to place calls. Mobile phone owners who have their phones stolen can contact their mobile network provider and ask them disable a phone using its IMEI number. With an IMEI number, the phone can be blocked from the network quickly and easily.