Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on November 19 issued a direction mandating the last dates by which adoption of the ‘1600’ numbering series should be completed by entities in the Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI) sector, and Government organisations to clearly distinguish their service and transactional calls from other commercial communications. The direction has been issued with the objective of curbing spam, and preventing fraudulent activities perpetrated through voice calls.
In response to TRAI’s regulatory initiative, the ‘1600’ numbering series has been assigned by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) for allocation to entities in the Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI) sector, regulated by the RBI, SEBI, and Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) and Government organisations. The series will enable citizens to reliably identify legitimate calls originating from regulated financial institutions, an official statement said.
The directive states that the adoption of ‘1600’ numbering series for all Mutual Funds and Asset Management Companies (AMCs) shall be completed by February 15, 2026. In the case of Qualified Stockbrokers (QSBs) the adoption of ‘1600’ numbering series shall be completed by March 15, 2026. For the time being, other SEBI-registered intermediaries may voluntarily migrate to the 1600-series after verification of their registration details, the directive states.
