According to the chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), consumer complaints against unregistered telemarketing entities fell nearly 33 per cent to 0.2 million in October 2025, down from 0.3 million in September 2025. However, he noted that a major challenge remains the low number of mobile subscribers reporting spam calls to the distributed ledger technology (DLT) platform, which limits the regulator’s ability to take timely action.
TRAI blacklisted 31 registered entities in October 2025, a sharp drop from 287 in the previous month. He explained that regulatory action can be initiated only when a complaint is logged on the do not disturb (DND) registry, which helps identify numbers being misused.
Further, TRAI blocked nearly 2.1 million mobile numbers over the past year. India currently has around 1.1 billion active wireless users. Most users simply block spam calls on their device or calling app, but this does not trigger any regulatory follow-up due to the lack of reporting through TRAI’s DND app.
Once a spam call or SMS is reported on the DND app, the complaint is forwarded to the respective telecom operator, and after verification, the number is either disconnected or blacklisted. The Telecom Commercial Communication Customer Preference Regulation (TCCCPR) 2018 also mandates the use of artificial intelligence (AI) by service providers to detect spam.
Moreover, in the last 7-8 months, the regulator has intensified consumer awareness campaigns and upgraded the DND app to curb unwanted communication. The regulator has also strengthened rules to ensure that only authorised entities are allowed to contact mobile phone users.
