The government has assigned 160 mobile phone series for making transactional and service voice calls for all entities regulated by RBI, SEBI, IRDAI, and PFRDA in the first phase. This is intended to prevent citizens from being deceived by fraudsters. Once the 160 mobile series is implemented, it will facilitate the easy identification of the calling entity.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) met with representatives from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), and other financial institutions, as well as all the telecom service providers (TSPs).
The meeting provided a platform for the exchange of ideas among the regulators, entities, and telecom service providers regarding the effective utilisation of this series, as stated by the Ministry of Communications.
The 140 series, currently used for promotional purposes, is being transitioned to a distributed ledger technology (DLT) platform. Additionally, digital consent scrubbing is being implemented, as per the Ministry's statement.
“With the implementation of the above two measures, substantial control on spam calls from 10-digit numbers is expected,” said the Ministry.
During the meeting, the regulators, banks, and other financial institutions emphasised the need to work together to tackle the problem of spam, especially through voice calls. They assured full cooperation for the timely implementation of various initiatives by TRAI.
Meanwhile, The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) clarified on Friday that the allegations of charging customers for having multiple SIM cards or numbering resources are completely untrue and unfounded. These claims are only meant to deceive the public. TRAI also urged all stakeholders and the general public to refer to the official press release and consultation paper issued through its website for accurate information. There were reports suggesting that TRAI had proposed a new regulation to allow for fees on mobile and landline numbers.
The regulator released a consultation paper on June 6, 2024, which mentioned that in some countries around the world, numbering resources are allocated on a chargeable basis, covering various categories such as mobile numbering resources, vanity numbers, and numbers for national interest.
ALSO READ: EPFO is revamping its software: Here's how it will help subscribers in claim settlements
Inputs from IANS
