If this detective takes off it will be more popular than Sherlock Holmes — it’s a software to trace lost mobiles. Inspired to create a mobile tracking solution after his 16-year old son lost his cellphone, P Sekhar, chairman and managing director of Micro Technologies, and his team began work on a programme to track phones.

The code, downloadable at Rs 200 to Rs 300 a year on most handsets from Micro’s website, allows the owner to track the exact location of his or her phone and the number of the new SIM (subscriber identity module) card that has been inserted. Explaining the technology, Sekhar said, “When a phone is stolen, the thief generally sells the device in the grey market.

When a new SIM card is inserted, the solution embedded in the phone will send an email or voice message to the original owner notifying him of the number on the new SIM card and the location of the phone.” “Most times,’’ he added, “the third party tends to return the gadget procured from the g rey market.’’

As of now, the only action a subscriber can take is to call the service provider frantically and seek to block his or her card — retrieving the handset itself is a lost cause. Called the Lost Mobile Tracking Solution (LMTS), the e-sniffer is awaiting a patent.

It was created with an investment of Rs 50 lakh, of which half has already been recovered in the four months of its launch in the Indian market. It would be safe to say that thousands of phones are stolen and lost in India every day, left behind in cabs, washrooms, restaurants and shops. In 2005, 20,000 cases of stolen mobiles (worth Rs 300 crore) were reported with the police.

About eight crore mobile handsets were retailed in India in the same year. Sekhar, who plans to take this solution global in the next two months, is in talks with five of the largest mobile manufacturers as well as the police, who say that lost mobile complaints are on the rise. He estimates that the market for such a solution could aggregate to Rs 30-40 crore within the next three years.