**Executive Summary**
On July 10, 2026, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) issued clarifications to address media misinformation regarding the 1600 and 140 numbering series. The document defines the mandatory use cases for these series—distinguishing between service/transactional calls and promotional calls—to enhance communication trustworthiness. No specific future deadlines are mentioned, but strict adherence to the Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulation (TCCCPR) regarding tagging and blocking is mandated.
**Key Points / Main Content**
**1600xx Series: Service and Transactional Calls**
* **Mandated Usage:** Reserved exclusively for service and transaction calls by government entities and BFSI sector entities regulated by RBI, SEBI, IRDAI, and PFRDA.
* **Purpose:** Designed to establish a trustworthy communication channel for existing customers and citizens.
* **Prohibitions:** Under TCCCPR, any tagging, blocking, or filtering of calls originating from the 1600 series is strictly prohibited.
**140xx Series: Promotional Calls**
* **Mandated Usage:** Reserved for promotional calls by entities across any sector.
* **Registration Requirements:** Entities must register with Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) under the TCCCPR framework to avail of this series.
* **Restrictions on Tagging:** Tagging or filtering of 140 series calls is not allowed, as it may mislead customers who have opted to receive calls from specific sectors.
**Customer Rights and DND Registry**
* **Preference Management:** Customers have the right to allow or block promotional calls from the 140 series by registering preferences on the Do Not Disturb (DND) registry.
* **Blocking Mechanisms:** Customers can set sector-specific or blanket blocks via various means, including the TRAI DND App.
* **Enforcement:** Once a sector is blocked on the DND registry, the customer will not receive any promotional calls from the 140 series originating from that sector.
**Impact Analysis**
**BFSI Regulated Entities and Government Bodies**
**Impact**
These entities are granted a dedicated 1600xx series to ensure their service and transactional communications are recognized as legitimate and are not filtered.
**Action Required**
Must utilize the 1600xx series for all service and transaction-related communications to existing customers and citizens.
**Commercial Entities (Promotional)**
**Impact**
All promotional outreach is restricted to the 140xx series, subject to customer preferences on the DND registry.
**Action Required**
Must register with TSPs under the TCCCPR framework and comply with regulatory provisions to obtain and use 140xx series numbers.
**Telecom Service Providers (TSPs)**
**Impact**
TSPs are responsible for the technical implementation of these series and ensuring regulatory compliance.
**Action Required**
Must facilitate the registration of promotional entities and ensure that no unauthorized tagging, blocking, or filtering occurs for the designated series, except as directed by the DND registry.
**Customers / Citizens**
**Impact**
Citizens gain better clarity on the nature of incoming calls (transactional vs. promotional) and maintain control over promotional disturbances.
**Action Required**
Register preferences on the DND registry or via the TRAI DND App to manage the receipt of promotional calls.
Key Entities Referenced
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI): The regulatory body that mandated and clarified the specific usage of 1600 and 140 number series for commercial and government communications.
Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulation (TCCCPR): The regulatory framework governing the registration, tagging, and filtering of calls originating from designated number series.
1600 series numbers: A designated number series mandated for service and transaction calls by regulated BFSI entities and government-to-citizen communications.
140 series numbers: A designated number series mandated for promotional calls, requiring entities to register with Telecom Service Providers.
Do Not Disturb (DND) registry: The central registry where customers manage their preferences to allow or block promotional calls originating from the 140 series.
Ministry of Communications
TRAI releases clarifications regarding functioning
of designated 1600 series and 140 series
प्रव तथ: 10 JUL 2026 4:05PM by PIB Delhi
Certain sections of press and media have brought out reports, which inter alia have comments/ views
regarding functioning of designated 1600 series and 140 series which could potentially lead to
misinformation or misinterpretation of operation of these designated series. The correct regulatory
position in this regard is clarified as under:
(i) TRAI has mandated the use of 1600xx series numbers for service and transaction calls by
regulated entities of BFSI sector i.e. entities regulated by RBI, SEBI, IRDAI and PFRDA to their
existing customers and by government entities for government to citizen communication. A key
objective of assigning designated series for these important communications is to make such calls
trustworthy for the customers/ citizen. Under the Telecom Commercial Communications Customer
Preference Regulation (TCCCPR), any tagging, blocking or filtering of the calls originating from
1600 series numbers is not permitted.
(ii) TRAI has mandated use of 140xx series numbers for making promotional calls by entities
of any sector. Entities desirous of availing 140 series number for making promotional calls must
register with Telecom Service Providers under the TCCCPR framework and comply with the
provisions of the regulation. The customers have the right to allow or block promotional call
originating from 140 series numbers from entities of any or all sectors by registering their
preference on the Do Not Disturb (DND) registry. A customer who has blocked any or all sectors
from receiving promotional calls on the DND registry will not receive any calls from 140 series
originating from entities of the blocked sectors. The customer can register his/her DND preference
through multiple means including through TRAI DND App. Any tagging or filtering of calls from
140 series numbers is not allowed except for blocking on the DND registry, as any tagging can
mislead a customer who has otherwise allowed receipt of such calls from a sector on the DND
registry.
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