Draft Telecom Policy proposes caller id must

New Delhi: In a move that could offer mobile phone users a big relief from spam calls and fraudulent messages, the government has proposed to make it mandatory that the identity of a person sending a message or calling should be visible to the receiver of the message or the call irrespective of the platform used for communication.

"All of you know that there has been a rise in cases where people get a call saying I am calling from XYZ bank seeking financial details leading to fraud... or you get threats from unknown numbers... so we have introduced a lot of points for user protection and to prevent cyberfraud.. we have dealt with this issue head-on..." Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Friday, stressing that the focus of the proposed telecom bill is to ensure protection of users.

He further pointed out that protection of users will not be limited to call made via landline or normal voice calls, but all types of calls such as WhatsApp calls, Zoom calls and Facetime etc.

The draft bill enables a legal framework for preventing harassment of users from unsolicited calls and messages and states that "The identity of a person sending a message using telecommunication services shall be available to the user receiving such message, in such form as may be prescribed".