The government wants to make brokers and builders accountable for unsolicited calls.

NEW DELHI: The government wants to hold brokers, banks, insurance providers, real estate developers, and other businesses accountable for contacting people using numbers that aren’t registered with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai). This includes holding agencies that make “pesky calls” on their behalf.

With their poorly implemented programs like the now-defunct “do not disturb” facility, the government and telecom regulator have failed to check the “menace” for more than 20 years. This is their latest attempt to do so.

Trai has also been discussing steps to stop the threat, but none of the organizations have established policies to deal with the selling of personal information that banks and real estate agents use to make unsolicited calls—often with a recorded voice pitching homes or insurance policies.

The Consumer Affairs Department conducted a stakeholder consultation last week and distributed draft guidelines to address the issue of unsolicited calls being treated as “unfair trade practice” and a violation of consumer rights. The new regulations, according to sources, would classify calls intended for business promotion from phone numbers other than those listed with the regulator as “pesky calls.”

According to sources, the department’s recommendations will mainly assist customers in identifying bothersome calls and safeguarding their interests. Under the Consumer Protection Act, consumers would be subject to legal action after reporting such unsolicited calls to the National Consumer Helpline.

According to information obtained by TOI, there will be three distinct number series so that individuals can quickly determine the purpose of the caller: ‘140’ for marketing, ‘160’ for service calls, and ‘111’ for communications from government organizations alerting or informing citizens.

The Reserve Bank of India, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority, Trai, the Cellular Operations Association of India, telemarketing firms, consumer organizations, and representatives of the telecom industry have assembled a panel, which has been assembled by the consumer affairs department.

According to the department, these calls infringe on both user privacy rights and consumer rights. Real estate is the industry that receives the most calls of this type, then financial services.

The department had earlier released a statement stating that “it was also pointed out that spam callers are now switching to internet calls, especially using WhatsApp to lure customers into Ponzi schemes, cryptocurrency investments, and offer job opportunities.”