The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India held a meeting of the Joint Committee of Regulators to advance cross-sectoral collaboration on addressing unsolicited commercial communication, fraudulent messaging, and digital scams. Representatives from key regulatory bodies, including the Reserve Bank of India, Securities and Exchange Board of India, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority, Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Ministry of Home Affairs, and Department of Telecommunications, participated in the discussions.
The committee focused on the implementation of 1600 series numbers, allocated exclusively for transactional and service calls made by government and financial sector entities. Members committed to accelerating deployment and ensuring proper monitoring. A presentation highlighted the feasibility of a unified caller ID for entities using the series across telecom service providers.
Discussions also covered the Digital Consent Acquisition platform, emphasizing the need for onboarding commercial communication senders to enhance consumer protection. Regulators pledged engagement with entities under their jurisdiction to drive adoption of the platform.
Efforts to combat fraudulent messaging were reinforced, with a focus on deletion of unused message headers and templates, rapid action on deceptive SMS headers, and blocking mobile numbers and IMEIs linked to fraudulent activity. Measures to curb scams via OTT and RCS communication platforms were also examined, with commitments to extend protective strategies beyond conventional telecom channels.
Participants agreed to strengthen inter-regulatory collaboration to protect consumers from fraud and unsolicited messages while maintaining a secure and efficient telecom communication ecosystem.
