Outlook Business Desk
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) have launched a pilot with banks and telecom firms to give users digital control over spam calls and messages, replacing paper-based consent with a secure, tamper-proof system.
The pilot includes top banks like SBI, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, Punjab National Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank, along with major telecom firms. Four working groups will oversee tech, rollout, and awareness. A joint workshop was held on July 21 to align on consent standards.
TRAI hosted a key meeting in New Delhi on Tuesday, July 23, with participation from top bodies like the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), and others under the Joint Committee of Regulators (JCoR).
“In a digital-first economy, collaboration among financial sector regulators, digital communication regulators and the security agencies becomes paramount. TRAI appreciates the swift collaboration being facilitated through JCoR in building a reliable and safer communication environment," said Anil Kumar Lahoti, TRAI Chairman.
The Chairman stressed the need for safeguards that stop spam and fraud without burdening genuine businesses. He urged regulators to speed up implementation and track progress. Regulators also agreed to phase the shift of banking service calls to the new 1600-number series, setting timelines with sector bodies based on readiness.
The committee discussed linking cyber fraud and spam data from the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), Department of Telecommunications’ Digital Intelligence Platform, and telecom operators’ blockchain-based Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) systems for real-time information sharing and faster action against fraud.
Concerns were raised about misuse of Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) and Primary Rate Interface (PRI) enterprise telecom lines for spam campaigns. Measures being considered include limiting these lines to specific number ranges and adding safeguards to ensure they are used responsibly.
TRAI revamped its SMS header lookup portal—smsheader.trai.gov.in—to help users identify the senders behind promotional and transactional message headers, boosting transparency and consumer control.
With rising fraud on UPI and mobile payments, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) joined the Joint Committee of Regulators (JCoR) to strengthen efforts against telecom fraud from a digital payments perspective.