TRAI, RBI launch pilot for digital consent to curb spam calls, banks and telcos onboard

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A major pilot project to give consumers full digital control over commercial calls and messages has been launched by telecom operators and banks, coordinated by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The initiative aims to replace unverifiable, offline consents with a secure, tamper-proof framework that allows users to digitally register, review, and revoke their permissions for promotional communication.

The pilot, seen as a critical tool in the fight against spam and fraud, includes major banks such as SBI, ICICI, HDFC, Axis Bank, PNB, Canara Bank, and Kotak Mahindra Bank, along with leading telecom service providers. Four dedicated working groups have been set up to manage technical operations, implementation, and public awareness. Ahead of the formal launch, a day-long workshop was held on July 21 with all participants to align on digital consent acquisition standards and timelines.

The pilot was a central focus of a high-level meeting hosted by TRAI in New Delhi on Tuesday, where regulators came together under the Joint Committee of Regulators (JCoR) to push coordinated measures against telecom fraud, spam, and infrastructure misuse. The meeting brought together representatives from RBI, SEBI, IRDAI, PFRDA, and MeitY, as well as officials from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), and the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).

“In an increasingly digitalised world, cross-sectoral collaboration among regulators is crucial for coordinated enablement of services and protection of consumers from harm. 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 reiterated the need for practical safeguards that deter spam and fraud without placing undue burden on legitimate businesses. He urged sectoral regulators to accelerate implementation within their respective domains and monitor progress closely.

Regulators also discussed the urgent migration of transactional and service calls in the banking and financial sectors to the new 1600-number series. It was agreed that the transition will be phased based on operational scale and readiness, with timelines to be set in consultation with sectoral regulators.

The committee further explored integrating cyber fraud and spam data systems operated by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), DoT’s Digital Intelligence Platform, and access providers’ blockchain-based DLT platforms. This will allow real-time sharing of information and enable swift action, such as the disconnection of telecom resources being used for fraud.

Another area of concern raised was the misuse of SIP and PRI enterprise telecom lines for bulk spam campaigns. Options under consideration include restricting these lines to designated number ranges and introducing additional safeguards to ensure responsible usage.

To improve transparency and empower consumers, TRAI has also revamped its SMS header lookup portal—smsheader.trai.gov.in—which lets users identify the entities behind specific promotional or transactional message headers.

Amid the sharp rise in fraud targeting UPI and mobile payment platforms, NPCI has formally joined the JCoR as a strategic stakeholder, bringing a much-needed digital payments perspective to the broader telecom fraud mitigation effort.