TRAI clarifies rules for 1600 and 140 number series; Details Inside
Babushahi Bureau
New Delhi, July 10, 2026: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Thursday issued a clarification on the functioning of the designated 1600 and 140 number series, saying recent media reports and public comments could lead to misinformation or misinterpretation regarding their use.
In a statement, TRAI said the 1600xx series has been earmarked for service and transaction calls made by regulated entities in the banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) sector—including organisations regulated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) and Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA)—to their existing customers. The series is also designated for government-to-citizen communications.
The regulator said the objective of the 1600 series is to enhance the credibility and trustworthiness of important service-related calls. Under the Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations (TCCCPR), telecom operators are not permitted to tag, block or filter calls originating from 1600 series numbers.
TRAI further clarified that the 140xx series is reserved exclusively for promotional calls by businesses and organisations across all sectors. Entities using the 140 series must register with their telecom service providers under the TCCCPR framework and comply with the prescribed regulations.
The authority noted that consumers have the option to allow or block promotional calls from specific sectors through the Do Not Disturb (DND) registry. Customers who have blocked promotional communications from selected sectors will not receive 140-series calls from those sectors. DND preferences can be registered through multiple channels, including the TRAI DND App.
TRAI also emphasised that tagging or filtering calls from the 140 series is not permitted, except where calls are blocked based on a customer's DND preferences, as incorrect tagging could mislead users who have chosen to receive promotional calls.