In a significant move to empower consumers and curb the persistent menace of unsolicited commercial communications, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has launched a pilot project for Digital Consent Management. This initiative, undertaken in collaboration with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and select banks, aims to establish a robust and verifiable digital framework for consumer consent, with an initial focus on the highly sensitive banking sector.
The pilot project comes in response to a surge in spam complaints, particularly from consumers who report receiving unwanted calls and messages from businesses with whom they have had prior interactions. While existing regulations under the Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations (TCCCPR), 2018, permit such communication with explicit consumer consent, TRAI has observed that much of this consent is obtained through unverifiable or offline means, making it difficult to ascertain its validity.
“In many cases, consumers report that their mobile numbers have been acquired by entities through misrepresentation, deception, or unauthorised data-sharing practices,” a TRAI statement highlighted.
Under the new pilot, all Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) have been directed to collaborate with participating banks to implement an enhanced Consent Registration Function (CRF) within a regulatory sandbox framework. This system will mandate companies to acquire consent digitally and register it in a secure, interoperable digital consent registry maintained by the TSPs. This will allow for easy verification of consent before any commercial communication is sent to a consumer.
TRAI remains committed to safeguarding consumer interests and fostering trust in legitimate commercial communications. The authority stated it would continue to work closely with sectoral regulators and stakeholders to ensure a more secure, transparent, and consumer-centric digital communication environment in India.
https://www.trai.gov.in/sites/default/files/2025-06/PR_No.48of2025.pdf