India's telecom regulator mandates caller name display from November 1

India's telecom regulator has unveiled new caller identification norms that will take effect from November 1, requiring mobile operators to display the registered name of incoming callers on subscriber handsets. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) said the enhanced caller name display feature will show both the phone number and the subscriber's registered name when a call is received.

The move is expected to significantly improve call transparency and help mobile users distinguish between legitimate calls and potentially fraudulent ones. By providing caller identification details beyond just phone numbers, the feature aims to give subscribers better visibility into who is attempting to contact them.

TRAI believes the new protocol will serve as an additional safeguard against rising instances of spam calls, unsolicited marketing calls, and cyber fraud attempts. The telecom watchdog has directed all licensed service providers to implement the caller name display functionality across their networks to ensure uniform adoption across the industry.

The implementation of standardized caller name display represents an effort by Indian telecommunications regulators to modernize consumer protection frameworks and reduce vulnerability to phone-based scams. Industry observers expect the feature to particularly benefit subscribers in combating spoofing attacks, where fraudsters mask their identities to deceive recipients.