The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has launched a pilot project aimed at digitally verifying consumer consent for commercial calls and messages, in a move to curb unsolicited commercial communications and enhance consumer protection. The initiative, launched in collaboration with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), involves select banks and telecom service providers (TSPs) and marks the beginning of a national rollout of a secure digital consent framework.
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Regulatory Background and the Challenge of Offline Consent
Under the Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations (TCCCPR), 2018, businesses are allowed to contact consumers for commercial purposes, even if the latter are registered under Do Not Disturb (DND), provided explicit consent has been obtained. However, TRAI has observed a surge in spam complaints against such entities, many of whom claim to have consumer consent collected through offline or unverifiable means. In numerous instances, consumers allege that their mobile numbers were obtained through misrepresentation or unauthorized data sharing.
"TRAI has undertaken several innovative regulatory measures in recent years to curb such practices. These include allowing consumers to register complaints against unregistered telemarketers (UTMs) even without prior DND registration, and initiating large-scale disconnection of telecom resources being misused by the entities for spamming activities. However, verification of consent for commercial communication citing offline consent of consumer, remains a formidable challenge," the Ministry of Communications said on Monday, June 16, 2025.
Digital Consent Registry
To combat this, TRAI has mandated the use of a secure, interoperable Digital Consent Registry maintained by Telecom Service Providers (TSPs), where entities must digitally acquire and register consumer consent for commercial communication.
This would facilitate real-time verification of consent before any commercial communication is initiated. However, for the successful operation of this consent registration framework, TRAI said onboarding of entities sending commercial communications is a necessary requirement.
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Pilot Rollout in Banking Sector with RBI
On June 13, 2025, TRAI issued a Direction to all TSPs to begin a Regulatory Sandbox Pilot with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and select banks, prioritizing the banking sector due to high consumer risk from financial frauds. This Pilot will test the Consent Registration Function (CRF) for its technical, operational, and regulatory robustness, aiming to scale across other sectors in the future.
TRAI says it remains committed to safeguarding consumer interest and enhancing trust in legitimate commercial communications.
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