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TRAI issued a direction on August 10, 2026 for phase-wise rollout of the 1601-series for service and transactional voice calls.
The 1601-series covers sectors other than BFSI and Government, which already use the 1600-series.
Phase-I covers utilities — electricity, water, city gas and LPG distributors — along with courier and logistics firms.
Telecom service providers must complete verification, onboarding and migration of Phase-I entities within 90 days.
The numbers cannot be used for promotional calls and cannot be allotted to intermediaries or aggregators.
Under India's National Numbering Plan, specific number series are reserved for particular categories of calls. When a genuine service call always arrives from a recognisable prefix, a subscriber can tell at a glance whether a call claiming to be from their gas distributor is authentic. Impersonation fraud relies on unfamiliar or spoofed numbers, so making legitimate callers identifiable is as much a security measure as a convenience one.
Simple Analogy: Like an official uniform — it does not stop anyone from lying about who they are, but it makes the genuine article instantly recognisable.
| Series | Who Uses It | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| 1600-series | BFSI and Government entities | Service and transactional calls |
| 1601-series | Eligible non-BFSI, non-Government entities | Service and transactional calls only |
Regulates telecom services and tariffs and issues directions binding on service providers
Allocates numbering resources and frames telecom policy; administers the National Numbering Plan
General Awareness > Regulatory Bodies and Current Affairs
GS Paper II > Regulatory Bodies; GS Paper III > Cyber Security
General Awareness > BFSI Regulations and Digital Fraud
A call relating to an existing service or transaction — such as a delivery update or a service appointment — as opposed to a marketing call.
A call made to market goods or services; expressly barred on the 1601-series.
The framework administered by DoT allocating number ranges to categories of telecom services.
Banking, Financial Services and Insurance — the sector grouping assigned the 1600-series.