The Department of Telecom (DoT) has introduced a distinct 10-digit numbering series starting with 160 for service and transactional calls made by government entities, regulators, and financial institutions, according to an office memorandum issue. This new numbering system aims to help telecom subscribers identify the calling entity, telecom operator, and the origin of the call.
“It has been decided to allocate a separate numbering series 160 exclusively for service and transactional voice calls as per Telecom Commercial Communication Customer Preference Regulation (TCCCPR) 2018,” the official note stated. This initiative is intended to help subscribers differentiate legitimate calls from government bodies and regulated entities from fraudulent calls pretending to be from these officials.
The 10-digit numbers will be formatted as 1600ABCXXX for government and regulatory bodies, where ‘AB’ indicates the telecom circle code (e.g., 11 for Delhi, 22 for Mumbai), and ‘C’ represents the telecom operator code. The ‘XXX’ will be a number between 000-999. For financial entities regulated by the RBI, SEBI, PFRDA, and IRDA, the numbers will follow the 1601ABCXXX format.
“The telecom service provider (TSP) shall ensure thorough verification of each entity before assigning a number from the 160 series. The TSP must obtain an undertaking from the requesting entity that the assigned number will be used exclusively for service and transactional voice calls as per TCCCPR 2018,” the note added.
