India, Nov. 19 -- The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Wednesday issued a directive mandating phase-wise adoption of the '1600' numbering series by entities regulated by the RBI, SEBI, and PFRDA. The move aims to enhance consumer trust, reduce spam, and prevent financial fraud conducted through misleading voice calls.
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) assigned the 1600-series for use by BFSI institutions and government bodies to help citizens easily identify legitimate service and transactional calls. TRAI has been coordinating with telecom operators and sector regulators, resulting in 485 entities already adopting the series with over 2,800 numbers in use.
With stakeholders indicating readiness, TRAI has now forma...