Department of Telecommunications has allocated a separate number series of 10 digits starting with 160 for service and transactional phone calls made by the government, regulators and financial institutions. According to an office memorandum issued by the department on Tuesday, this 10-digit number series has been designed in such a way that telecom customers will know about the calling entities as well as the telecom operator and the location of the call. According to the official statement, “It has been decided to allocate a separate number series 160 exclusively for service and transactional phone calls under the Telecom Commercial Communication Consumer Preference Regulation (TCCCPR), 2018.”
It will help in preventing fraud
The move is aimed at helping customers differentiate between calls made by government bodies and regulated entities and calls made by fraudsters impersonating government officials. The new number series will be issued to the government and regulators in the format 1600ABCXXX. The ‘AB’ will represent the code of the telecom circle, with 11 for Delhi and 22 for Mumbai. The digit ‘C’ will represent the code of the telecom service provider while ‘XXX’ will be a number between 000-999.
Will be able to make only service and transaction calls
Similarly, for financial institutions regulated by RBI, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) and Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), 10 digit numbers will be issued in the format 1601ABCXXX. Telecom service providers will do proper verification of each entity before allocating a number in the 160 series. Apart from this, they will have to take an affidavit from the interested entity that it will use the number allotted under this series only for service and transaction calls.
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