The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has issued a direction specifying the last dates by which entities regulated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), and Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) must adopt the ‘1600’ numbering series. The initiative aims to enhance consumer trust, curb spam, and prevent fraudulent activities conducted through voice calls.

In response to TRAI’s regulatory initiative, the ‘1600’ numbering series has been assigned by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) for allocation to entities in the banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) sector and government organisations to distinguish their service and transactional calls from other commercial communications. The series is intended to help citizens clearly identify legitimate calls originating from regulated financial institutions.

Following the assignment of the series and allocation of numbering resources to telecom service providers (TSPs), TRAI has been engaging with TSPs and BFSI sector regulators to facilitate adoption. As a result, around 485 entities have already onboarded, subscribing to more than 2,800 numbers. Based on interactions with stakeholders, TRAI has assessed that it is now appropriate to mandate time-bound completion of the migration, particularly for entities still using standard 10-digit numbers for service and transactional calls. Inputs on timelines were taken from BFSI regulators through discussions held during meetings of the Joint Committee of Regulators (JCoR), leading to the issuance of a phase-wise schedule.

Key provisions of the direction are as follows:

  1. SEBI-regulated entities
  • Adoption of the ‘1600’ numbering series by all mutual funds and asset management companies (AMCs) must be completed by February 15, 2026.
  • Adoption by all qualified stockbrokers (QSBs) must be completed by March 15, 2026.
  • Other SEBI-registered intermediaries may voluntarily migrate after verification of their registration details.
  1. RBI-regulated entities
  • Commercial banks (public, private and foreign) must onboard by January 1, 2026.
  • Large NBFCs (asset size above Rs 50 billion), payments banks and small finance banks must onboard by February 1, 2026.
  • Remaining NBFCs, co-operative banks, regional rural banks and other smaller entities must onboard by March 1, 2026.
  1. PFRDA-regulated entities
  • Central recordkeeping agencies (CRAs) and pension fund managers must onboard by February 15, 2026.

Additionally, the last date for adoption of the 1600-series by entities in the insurance sector is under discussion with the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) and will be notified later.

Overall, the structured and time-bound adoption of the ‘1600’ numbering series is expected to strengthen consumer safety and help reduce impersonation-based financial frauds executed through voice calls.