New spam rules on hold as regulator sees improvement

Guidelines to make spam calls and SMSes illegal have been kept in abeyance for now by the country's top consumer watchdog.

- Dhirendra Kumar

Guidelines to make spam calls and SMSes illegal have been kept in abeyance for now by the country's top consumer watchdog. Reason: the regulator's belief that steps have already been taken and things have improved, and to avoid over-regulation, two people aware of the matter said on condition of anonymity.

According to the first person, the department of consumer affairs (DoCA), the parent organization of Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA), believes that telecom regulator Trai (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) has taken corrective measures to curb unwanted calls, and the CCPA has observed a change in the behaviour of telecom service providers.