TRAI vs Truecaller: Why are users blocking numbers whitelisted by TRAI? Understand the issue..

We are all bothered by the promotional and spam calls we receive throughout the day. Recently, a major dispute has arisen between the telecom regulator TRAI and the caller ID app Truecaller regarding numbers starting with 1400 and 1600. Let’s understand in simple terms who these numbers belong to and why they have caused such a stir.

What are the 1400 and 1600 series numbers?
The government has designated these special number series for specific purposes:

1400 series: Companies use this for promoting their products.
1600 series: Banks across the country use this for essential calls.
According to the rules, these calls are placed on a "whitelist." This means that caller ID apps—such as Truecaller, Hiya, and Whoscall—cannot automatically block or mark these numbers as spam.

So, where is the problem?
Even though these numbers are whitelisted, when hundreds of thousands of app users get annoyed by a specific number and manually report it as spam or block it, the app's system automatically tags it as spam. Additionally, Truecaller's premium users have the option to completely block specific number series.

TRAI raised objections to this practice. The regulator argues that these apps are incorrectly labeling and blocking commercial communication numbers as spam. Consequently, TRAI sought authority from the government to take action against these apps under the IT Act.

Truecaller's strong response
Truecaller CEO Rishit Jhunjhunwala has now issued a statement regarding this matter, describing TRAI's move as absurd.

What did Jhunjhunwala say on X?
Initially, Truecaller complied with TRAI's directives and whitelisted the numbers, despite having reservations about the rule. However, the outcome was the exact opposite of what was expected. Users do not answer more than 51 million (5.1 crore) calls originating from these two series on a daily basis. It was noted that while users were consistently reporting spam, Truecaller was prohibited by regulations from informing them that these calls were indeed spam.

**User dissatisfaction reflected in the data**
According to Truecaller, public trust in these specific number series has eroded. The company has released some startling figures:

*   Over the past eight months, users ignored 81% of calls from the '140' series and 79% of calls from the '1600' series.
*   Since October 2025, there has been a massive 208% surge in instances of users manually blocking numbers from the '1600' series.

**Can TRAI take action against these apps?**
Currently, no. The technical reason for this is that telecom operators—such as Jio and Airtel—obtain licenses under the Department of Telecommunications and are therefore mandated to comply with TRAI regulations. In contrast, digital platforms like Truecaller are classified as intermediaries under the IT Act. Consequently, under existing rules, TRAI cannot directly take strict action against these apps.

Disclaimer: This content has been sourced and edited from Amar Ujala. While we have made modifications for clarity and presentation, the original content belongs to its respective authors and website. We do not claim ownership of the content.