The authorities’s technical system is efficiently blocking 1.35 crore fraudulent calls each day serving to to guard property price Rs 2,500 crore, Union Minister for Communications Jyotiraditya Scindia stated.
In an interview with PTI, Scindia defined that many of the spam calls originate from abroad servers, and the federal government’s programs have been extremely efficient in blocking these fraudulent makes an attempt.
“We’ve set up a comprehensive system to tackle marketing and fraud calls. Through our Department of Telecommunications (DoT) fraud detection network, we’ve already saved Rs 2,500 crore of people’s assets through tools like Sanchar Sathi and Chakshu,” Scindia stated.
The programs in place have resulted within the disconnection of practically 290,000 cellphone numbers and the blocking of round 1.8 million headers used for sending fraudulent messages.
Scindia added {that a} main problem concerned callers utilizing abroad servers to disguise their numbers as Indian (+91) cellphone numbers. To fight this, the federal government has applied software program that blocks a mean of 13.5 million such fraudulent calls each day.
The authorities has additionally launched new software program that integrates regulation enforcement businesses and banks, with 520 businesses already onboarded.
Scindia additionally outlined plans for BSNL, together with rolling out self-reliant 5G by May and increasing 4G protection below the saturation scheme by April. He emphasised that BSNL’s progress is vital, and the federal government is dedicated to enhancing its market place.
“We’ve invested capital, provided spectrum, and are pushing for BSNL to expand its customer base and become a major player in the telecom sector. The goal is to ensure three to four strong players in the telecom market,” he stated.
BSNL can also be on observe to deploy 1 lakh base stations for 4G, with 50,000 already accomplished. By April-May 2025, 1 lakh base stations are anticipated to be up and operating, setting the stage for a clean transition to 5G.
“As we roll out 4G, adding 5G is just a matter of tweaking the core and adding additional base stations. By next year, some BSNL sites will also be 5G-enabled,” Scindia added.
The authorities’s focus is on making certain 4G connectivity reaches all corners of India. Scindia famous that round 37,000 villages nonetheless lack 4G protection, a lot of them in distant areas. However, the aim is to attain 100% 4G saturation by March-April subsequent yr, masking an extra 1.6 crore folks.
He additionally mentioned the significance of the Telecommunications Act 2023, which he notified upon taking workplace. “Issuing the notification of the Telecom Act was the first thing I did, as it sets a 180-day countdown for issuing all associated rules. By December, we aim to finalise the remaining rules,” he defined.
The new Telecommunications Act replaces the outdated regulatory framework primarily based on the Indian Telegraph Act (1885), the Wireless Telegraphy Act (1933), and the Telegraph Wires (Unlawful Possession) Act (1950). Some guidelines have been partially notified in June, enabling the federal government to take management of telecom providers for nationwide safety causes or throughout wartime.
One of the important thing modifications below the brand new guidelines is the institution of the Digital Bharat Nidhi, a fund for analysis, growth, and pilot tasks, changing the previous common service obligation fund, which was beforehand used to assist telecom providers in rural areas. The new guidelines additionally mandate stronger safety for customers from spam and malicious communications.
