India's telecom regulator drew a strict line: 1600 for bank and government service calls, 140 for marketing. Operators cannot tag or filter 1600 calls. DND rules apply to 140 series.
India's telecom regulator clarified the distinct roles of the 1600 and 140 number series. Banks, insurers, and government agencies use 1600 numbers for service and transaction calls. Promotional and marketing calls belong to the 140 series, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India said.
The clarification matters because telecom operators had been tagging or filtering 1600 calls with spam labels. TRAI said operators cannot mark, filter, or block 1600-series calls. Third-party apps also cannot apply labels like 'spam' to those numbers.
The 140 series remains subject to the Do Not Disturb framework. Customers who opted out of promotional calls will not receive 140-series marketing calls from registered categories. TRAI said operators should block 140 calls only where the customer's DND preference requires it.
Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio, and Vodafone Idea must adjust their call handling systems to comply. The change also affects businesses that rely on telemarketing, including banks, fintech firms, and e-commerce companies.
TRAI's directive takes effect immediately. Customers can update DND preferences through the TRAI DND app or their telecom provider.
Drafted by a large language model from the source reporting linked above, then screened by automated publishing checks. It is not read by a journalist before publication. Some articles cite our Alpha Score. Verify prices and figures against the original source. Educational coverage, not personalized advice.