India, July 19 -- There's a new system the government wants to quietly slip into India's digital plumbing and it doesn't come with an app. You won't be asked to download anything. There's no helpline. No pop-up screen seeking your permission. And yet, it could determine whether you get to log into your bank account, book a cab, or access your digital wallet.

It's called the Mobile Number Validation (MNV) Platform. Think of it as a central switchboard that silently checks whether your mobile number is active, valid, or suspicious-every time you try to use it on a digital platform. The goal, on the surface, seems simple and fair: crack down on fraud. India's seen a surge in SIM-swap scams, fake loan apps, and numbers recycled by fraudsters...