Centre Clears Confusion Over 1600 and 140 Series Phone Numbers, Explains Their Purpose

New Delhi: The Central government on Friday clarified the purpose and use of 1600 and 140 series phone numbers after reports in some sections of the media created confusion over their functioning.

In a statement, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) said the reports could lead to misinformation or misinterpretation regarding the operation of these designated number series.

According to TRAI, phone numbers beginning with the 1600 series are reserved for service and transaction-related calls made by regulated entities in the Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI) sector. These include organisations regulated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) and the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA). Government departments also use these numbers for official communication with citizens.

The regulator said the dedicated number series has been introduced to make important service-related calls more trustworthy. 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 also explained that the 140 series has been designated exclusively for promotional calls made by businesses and organisations across all sectors.

Any entity wishing to use a 140 series number for promotional communication must first register with its telecom service provider under the TCCCPR framework and comply with all regulatory requirements.

The regulator emphasised that consumers have full control over whether they wish to receive such promotional calls. Users can allow or block promotional calls from specific sectors by registering their preferences under the Do Not Disturb (DND) service.

Customers who have blocked promotional calls from selected sectors through the DND registry will not receive calls from 140 series numbers belonging to those sectors.

TRAI added that DND preferences can be updated through multiple channels, including the TRAI DND mobile application.

The regulator also clarified that telecom operators are not allowed to tag or filter calls originating from 140 series numbers, except where calls are blocked in accordance with a customer's DND preferences. It said unnecessary tagging could mislead users who have chosen to receive promotional calls from particular sectors.

With inputs from IANS