SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure | SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
Institutions: Ministry of Communications (Department of Telecommunications - DoT)
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has issued a clarification confirming that the Telecommunication Cyber Security (TCS) Amendment Rules, 2025, which introduce a robust framework for digital security, are in force and enforceable. The clarification was necessary after an inadvertent republication of the rules. The overall objective of the rules is to strengthen India’s cyber resilience and safeguard the digital ecosystem against telecom-enabled frauds.
The framework introduces several key, future-ready mechanisms:
Mobile Number Validation (MNV) Platform: The Rules institutionalize the MNV platform to curb the surge in mule accounts and identity frauds arising from unverified linkages of mobile numbers with financial and digital services. This privacy-compliant, decentralized platform allows service providers to validate that a mobile number genuinely belongs to the recorded user.
Resale Device Scrubbing: Recognizing the second-hand device market as a hotspot for stolen or cloned phones, the Rules mandate entities dealing in resale or refurbished devices to scrub every device’s IMEI number through a centralized database of blacklisted IMEIs before resale.
TIUE Obligations: The Rules define and mandate Telecom Identifier User Entities (TIUEs)—which include financial and digital service providers—to share relevant telecom-identifier data with the government under specific conditions, ensuring greater traceability and accountability in fraud detection.
Policy Relevance
This regulatory framework represents a critical layer of security for India’s Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI). By institutionalizing the MNV platform and mandating device scrubbing, the DoT is proactively addressing the systemic risk posed by the confluence of telecom services and digital finance. The comprehensive approach enhances trust and confidence in digital transactions, positioning the telecom sector as a resilient, interoperable, and future-ready cyber security framework essential for the Digital India mission.
What is the Mobile Number Validation (MNV) Platform?→ The Mobile Number Validation (MNV) Platform is a decentralized, privacy-compliant system established by the TCS Rules. Its purpose is to allow digital and financial service providers to validate, in real-time, that the mobile number used by a customer genuinely matches the registered identity on file with the telecom service provider. This mechanism is designed to prevent identity fraud and the creation of “mule accounts” which rely on unverified phone number linkages.
Relevant Question for Policy Stakeholders: Following the notification of the MNV platform, what specific inter-ministerial mechanism will the DoT establish to ensure privacy-compliant data-sharing protocols are uniformly implemented by all financial sector regulators (RBI, SEBI, IRDAI) designated as Telecom Identifier User Entities?
Follow the full news here: Department of Telecommunications’ Amendment to Telecommunication Cyber Security (TCS) Rules, 2025