To address the issue of pesky/promotional or unsolicited commercial calls received by the consumers, the Department of Consumer Affairs, Government of India has constituted a Committee comprising of members from cellular industry, regulatory bodies such as Department of Telecommunication (DoT), Department of Financial Services(DFS), Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs Reserve Bank of India, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), Department of Telecommunication (DoT),Department of Financial Services(DFS), Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), Cellular Operations Association of India (COAI), telemarketing companies, VCOs to draft the Guidelines.

Under the Chairmanship of Shri Rohit Kumar Singh, Secretary, DoCA, the Department convened a meeting on 14^th February, 2024 to discuss the issues related to pesky/promotional/unsolicited commercial calls.

In the meeting, issues related to pesky/promotional/unsolicited commercial calls were discussed. It was observed that these calls not only violate the privacy of users but also the rights of the consumers. Most of such calls are from financial services sector followed by real estate. It was also pointed out that spam callers are now switching to internet call, especially using Whatsapp to lure customers into ponzi schemes, crypto investments and offer job opportunities.

Efforts have already been made by Department of Telecommunication and Telecomm Regulatory Authority (TRAI) to address the issue related to spam messages and pesky calls from registered telemarketers. The telemarketers have been advised to get their business entity, sender IDs and SMS templates on DLT platforms. DLT platforms are operator-run portals such as Airtel, Vodafone, Jio, BSNL etc. where businesses need to register by giving their business details. TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) has released new guidelines for the Bulk SMS Service Industry by introducing DLT (Distributed Ledger Technology) - a block-chain based registration system that will maintain the record of all transactions made by business entities. The sole objective of TRAI DLT regulations is to bring transparency to the system, counter the menace of SMS spam and protect the consumers from fraudulent practices.

During the Meeting, it was observed all the Telemarketers from various sectors viz. banking and financial services, real estate, e-commerce platforms and other commercial entities have already been advised to get 140 number series prefixed to their phone number so that a consumer can identify the caller. It gives subscribers more control on what kind of calls or texts they want to receive. Various unregistered telemarketers do not follow these provisions.  It was emphasized in the meeting that all the telemarketers should ensure strict compliance to these enabling provisions. 

The meeting was attended by representatives from Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), Cellular Operations Association of India (COAI), Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), Vodafone, Airtel and Reliance.

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