Parliament Question: Spam call and SMS regulation

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS RAJYA SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 74 TO BE ANSWERED ON 05TH FEBRUARY, 2026 SPAM CALL AND SMS REGULATION 74 SHRI SAKET GOKHALE: Will the Minister of Communications be pleased to state: (a) the month-wise number of complaints received regarding unsolicited commercial communications (UCC) between January, 2025 till date; (b) the number and amount of financial frauds linked to telecom channels during this period; and (c) the details of enforcement actions taken by TRAI and DoT against defaulting entities and the reasons for continuing high spam and fraud incidences despite new DLT consent rules? ANSWER MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS AND DEVELOPMENT OF NORTH EASTERN REGION (SHRI JYOTIRADITYA M. SCINDIA) (a) to (c) A statement is laid on the Table of the House. 1STATEMENT TO BE LAID ON THE TABLE OF RAJYA SABHA IN RESPECT OF PARTS (a) TO (c) OF THE RAJYA SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 74 FOR 05TH FEBRUARY, 2026 REGARDING “SPAM CALL AND SMS REGULATION.” (a) The number of Unsolicited Commercial Communications (UCC) complaints received by Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) for the period January 2025 to December 2025 is as follows: Month Complaints Complaints Total Complaints against against Registered Unregistered Telemarketer Telemarketer (RTM) (UTM) Jan 2025 1,34,821 13,299 1,48,120 Feb 2025 1,05,102 11,111 1,16,213 Mar 2025 1,16,221 15,741 1,31,962 Apr 2025 1,24,105 14,602 1,38,707 May 2025 2,11,509 49,248 2,60,757 Jun 2025 2,68,150 57,751 3,25,901 Jul 2025 2,87,574 50,873 3,38,447 Aug 2025 3,08,320 85,746 3,94,066 Sep 2025 3,12,083 71,501 3,83,584 Oct 2025 2,16,476 39,138 2,55,614 Nov 2025 2,40,162 41,985 2,82,147 Dec 2025 2,77,551 56,766 3,34,317 (b) Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), has established National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP) (https://cybercrime.gov.in) which enables public to report incidents pertaining to all types of cyber-crimes. Data on numbers of financial frauds linked to telecom channel is not separately maintained. However, based on request of Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs), 2.38 lakh numbers that were found linked to NCRP complaints were disconnected in 2025. (c) The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) governs UCC under the regulatory framework viz. Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations (TCCCPR). TRAI has adopted two-pronged strategy, which involves provisions for legitimate commercial communications by the registered entities, and measures to curb UCC from unregistered senders. Notable actions taken by TRAI are as follows: i. As per TRAI’s mandate, more than 3 lakh senders and 21,000 telemarketers have registered on Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) platform. ii. A customer who does not want to receive promotional communication from (RTM), can register their preferences and lodge complaint against UCC within 7 days through any of the following means – a. Using TRAI Do Not Disturb (DND) Mobile App, b. Through TSPs App or Web portal, c. by sending SMS to short code to 1909, d. by calling on 1909. In addition to above channels, complaints can also be lodged on Sanchar Saathi portal of Department of Telecommunications (DoT). 2iii. TRAI has mandated the use of – (a) 140 series numbers for making promotional calls, and (b) registered headers for sending any commercial SMS. In December 2025, more than 7.5 crore SMS and voice calls were blocked per day by DLT system on an average, based on the preferences of the customers. iv. Based on the complaints received, it is observed that majority of the UCC is from UTMs who use regular 10-digit numbers instead of 140 series bypassing the DLT platform and therefore customer preferences. To tackle this, major TSPs have implemented AI-based solutions to detect suspected spam and alert the customers. In December 2025, on an average, more than 31 crores calls and SMS were flagged as suspected spam per day by the TSPs. v. TRAI issued directions to TSPs on 13.08.2024, to disconnect all telecom resources of the UTMs for making commercial calls in violation of TCCCPR. Through TCCCPR amendments in Feb 2025, provisions for action against the UCC senders was further strengthened. The actions now range from immediate suspension of connections to disconnection of all the connections of the UCC sender across TSPs. Subsequently, around 21 lakhs telecom connections have been disconnected. vi. TRAI has prescribed to use special 1600 series for financial sector for making service and transactional calls to enable consumers to distinguish such calls with strict timelines of implementation. vii. TRAI has imposed Financial Disincentives (FDs) of Rs. 153.8 crore on TSPs for closing UCC complaints in contravention of the provisions of the TCCCPR. ***** 3