Truecaller CEO Rishit Jhunjhunwala criticized the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on July 8, saying its rules have worsened the country’s spam call problem. He highlighted that TRAI’s directive bars Truecaller from warning users about spam calls from numbers in the 140 and 1600 series, which are used by telemarketing and BFSI companies, respectively, according to medianama.com.
Jhunjhunwala explained that Truecaller complied with TRAI’s order to whitelist these numbers despite concerns about the regulator’s authority to issue such instructions to caller-ID apps. He pointed out a contradiction where TRAI, which licenses telecom operators, is imposing regulations on caller-ID apps that fall under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) as intermediaries under the IT Act. TRAI has requested MeitY for authority to regulate these apps, as reported by medianama.com.
The CEO’s comments come amid a significant increase in spam calls in India, which he attributes to TRAI’s enforcement of rules requiring businesses to use the 140 and 1600 number series for telemarketing and financial service calls. This regulatory approach limits caller-ID apps’ ability to flag these calls as spam, potentially undermining consumer protections. The issue highlights regulatory overlaps between TRAI and MeitY concerning digital intermediaries.
Truecaller’s public statement on X (formerly Twitter) on July 8 brought attention to the regulatory challenges affecting spam call management in India. The debate over jurisdiction and authority continues as TRAI seeks formal power to regulate caller-ID apps, a move that could reshape how spam calls are identified and managed in the country, according to medianama.com.