TRAI Says 1600 Series Calls Cannot Be Blocked, Defends Dedicated Number System Amid Truecaller Row

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has clarified that phone calls originating from the 1600 number series cannot be blocked, tagged or filtered by any app, saying these numbers have been reserved for important communications from regulated entities and the government to citizens.

The clarification comes amid an ongoing disagreement between the regulator and caller identification app Truecaller, which has argued that spammers are exploiting the dedicated number series. TRAI, however, maintained that the purpose of introducing the 1600 series is to make essential service and transaction calls more trustworthy for citizens.

Why TRAI is standing firm

TRAI said the restriction is in line with the Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulation (TCCCPR). Under these rules, calls from the 1600 series cannot be tagged, blocked or filtered by any application.

According to the regulator, the 1600 series has been assigned for service and transaction-related calls made by regulated entities in the banking, financial services and insurance sectors that are governed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) and Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA). The number series is also meant for government-to-citizen communication, PTI reports.

TRAI said the dedicated numbering system has been introduced to help citizens identify genuine calls from trusted organisations and government agencies.

Truecaller raises concerns over misuse

The regulator also clarified that promotional calls made through the 140 number series cannot be tagged or filtered by any app. Instead, customers who do not wish to receive such calls can block them by registering their preferences on the Do Not Disturb (DND) registry, which is managed by TRAI.

Consumers can choose to block promotional calls from any or all sectors through the DND registry using multiple methods, including the TRAI DND App. Once a sector is blocked, promotional calls from 140 series numbers belonging to that sector will not be delivered. TRAI said allowing apps to independently tag or filter these calls could mislead customers who have chosen to receive promotional calls from specific sectors.

The clarification follows criticism from Truecaller CEO Rishit Jhunjhunwala, who claimed that spammers are taking advantage of the regulator's directions. He said around 5.25 lakh users report calls from the 140 and 1600 series as spam every day and questioned why such numbers cannot be marked as spam if users consistently flag them.

Jhunjhunwala also said the number of spam calls from the two series has increased sharply. According to him, more than 5.1 crore calls from the 140 and 1600 series go unanswered every day. He added that manual blocking actions against 1600 series numbers have increased by 208% since October 2025, with users taking a total of 7.4 crore blocking actions over the past eight months.

He further claimed that Truecaller users currently block around four lakh calls from the 140 series and 1.25 lakh calls from the 1600 series every day.

Meanwhile, TRAI said it has sought authorisation from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) to take action against apps that violate its rules aimed at strengthening the fight against spam and fraudulent calls.

The disagreement highlights the growing debate between regulatory safeguards designed to protect official communications and the practical challenge of preventing misuse by spam callers. While TRAI believes a protected number series will improve trust in genuine calls, Truecaller argues that user-reported data points to abuse that should not be ignored.