Pesky calls News

A financial disincentive (FD) of Rs 2 lakh for first instance of violation, Rs 5 lakh for second instance of violation and Rs 10 lakh per instance for subsequent instances of violation, shall be imposed on access providers in case of misreporting of the count of UCC.

TRAI said that it has observed a significant rise in spam calls, with over more than 7.9 lakh complaints reported against Unregistered Telemarketers (UTMs) in the first half of the year 2024 (January to June).

These regulations aim to protect consumers from unwanted promotional calls and messages, while allowing businesses to send targeted communications to customers who have consented for or set preferences to receive them. 

In his address, TRAI Chairman Anil Kumar Lahoti stressed the need for a joint effort to tackle the problem of spam messages and calls.

Central Consumer Protection Authority had issued guidelines to protect consumers from unfair trade practices and violation of their consumer rights through unsolicited and unwarranted business communication in the form of voice calls, SMS, and instant messaging applications including through social media platforms.

The regulator also asked telecom operators to ensure that commercial communication takes place only through registered senders.

The new features of the regulation are adoption of Distributed Ledger Technology (or blockchain) as the RegTech to enforce regulatory compliance while allowing innovation in the market.

Steps taken by authorities to rein in pesky calls and SMSes seem to be bearing fruit with the average number of complaints received per month regarding such unsolicited communications coming down by over 80 percent in the ongoing financial year.