SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions | SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) | Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) | Department of Telecommunications (DoT)
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) issued a Direction on December 16, 2025, mandating that all entities regulated by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) must adopt the “1600“ numbering series for making service and transactional calls to consumers by February 15, 2026. This initiative, developed in consultation with IRDAI, aims to enhance consumer trust and prevent fraudulent activities perpetrated through voice calls.
Key Features of the 1600-Series Initiative:
Verified Identity Layer: The series acts as a clear marker to help citizens reliably identify legitimate calls from regulated financial institutions, distinguishing them from unsolicited spam or fraudulent impersonations.
Centralized Allocation: Numbers in the 1600-series are centrally allocated by the DoT and whitelisted at the telecom switch level to ensure high traceability and accountability.
Immutable Logging: Every call made using this series is logged on an immutable ledger, including the timestamp and recipient consent status, preventing misuse.
Bypassing Spam Filters: Calls from the 1600-series bypass automated spam filters and call-blocking systems, significantly improving the answer rates for critical service calls like policy renewal reminders or OTPs.
Broad Adoption: Already, about 570 entities across the Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI) sector have adopted the series, subscribing to over 3,000 numbers.
Policy Relevance
The mandate completes the regulatory circle for the Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI) sector, following similar directions previously issued for entities regulated by RBI, SEBI, and PFRDA.
Combating Voice Phishing: By creating a recognizable “trusted identity” for the insurance sector, TRAI aims to reduce the significant financial losses incurred by consumers due to voice-based frauds.
Regulatory Compliance: The 1600-series provides regulators with a centralized and traceable system for monitoring and auditing how financial institutions communicate with their customers.
Eliminating Grey Market Telemarketing: The mandate forces entities using standard 10-digit mobile numbers for official business to move into a regulated framework, ending the use of unregistered lines for customer outreach.
Relevant Question for Policy Stakeholders: With the February 15th deadline fast approaching, how will TRAI and IRDAI monitor the compliance of smaller insurance intermediaries and prevent them from continuing to use traditional 10-digit numbers for “grey area” service calls?
Follow the full news here: TRAI issues Direction mandating adoption of 1600-series by entities regulated by IRDAI