MUMBAI: Spam beware, India’s digital regulators are tightening the screws. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) convened the 9th Joint Committee of Regulators (JCoR) at its New Delhi headquarters on October 16, 2025, marking another decisive step towards a safer, cleaner digital ecosystem.
The high-level meet brought together representatives from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), alongside officials from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Ministry of Consumer Affairs (MoCA), and the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). Industry heavyweights including Google, Meta, GSMA, and COAI were also present to discuss collective measures against spam and cyber fraud.
Central to the deliberations was the progress of the Digital Consent Acquisition pilot, currently underway at 11 banks under joint supervision by TRAI and RBI. On track for completion by February 2026, the pilot aims to ensure consumers have greater control over consent for commercial communications, a key tool in fighting spam.
Meanwhile, TRAI pushed ahead with plans to fully adopt the 1600-series numbering system for banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI) communications, with a phased sunset timeline agreed in collaboration with sector regulators. The committee also flagged the need for flexibility for small-scale businesses, with TRAI set to issue guidance soon.
Other significant outcomes included mandatory whitelisting of all URLs, OTT links, APKs, and callback numbers used in SMS communications. This initiative, paired with a crackdown on shortened links and blacklisting errant entities, aims to curb fraudulent messaging at scale. The committee also discussed enhanced PE-end security measures, including real-time credential validation and CAPTCHA enforcement for OTP systems, to bolster trust and safeguard users’ digital interactions.
TRAI chairman Anil Kumar Lahoti highlighted the importance of collaboration. “In a digitally connected economy, cooperation among regulators for digital services, financial services, consumer protection, and law enforcement is paramount. The JCoR continues to be a crucial platform for ensuring orderly digital connectivity and cracking down on spam and cyber fraud. Today’s decisions underscore our shared commitment to a secure and transparent digital communication ecosystem,” he said.
The committee’s discussions also reflected an emphasis on public deterrence, with plans for TSPs and TRAI to publish blacklisted entities involved in spamming activities. Such transparency is expected to reinforce compliance while warning potential violators.
By combining regulatory oversight, technological interventions, and industry collaboration, TRAI and its partners aim to transform India’s digital messaging landscape making spam less profitable, fraud less frequent, and user trust more robust. With these initiatives, the 9th JCoR meeting set a precedent for proactive governance in India’s rapidly evolving digital communication space.
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