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If you receive calls from the 1600 or 140 series on your phone and wish to block them using an app—labeling them as spam or fraud—this will no longer be possible. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has clarified that specific rules apply to these number series, and no app is permitted to tag or filter them at its own discretion.

Why can't 1600-series numbers be blocked?
According to TRAI, 1600-series numbers are not intended for the general public; instead, they are designated for service and transaction-related calls from regulated entities such as banks, insurance companies, financial institutions, and government departments.

Entities falling under the purview of regulators like RBI, SEBI, IRDAI, and PFRDA use these numbers to contact their existing customers. Additionally, the government uses this series to convey essential information to citizens.

TRAI stated that under the Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations (TCCCPR), calls originating from the 1600 series cannot be tagged, filtered, or blocked by any app. This measure ensures that people can trust these calls and do not miss out on critical information.

What are the new rules for the 140 series?
On the other hand, the 140-series numbers are used by registered telemarketers for promotional calls. TRAI has clarified that these calls, too, cannot be tagged or filtered via third-party apps.

If you wish to avoid these promotional calls, the only valid method is the 'Do Not Disturb' (DND) registry. You can set your preferences using TRAI's DND app or other official channels.

If you have blocked a specific sector (such as real estate or finance) in the DND registry, you will not receive any 140-series calls from that sector. TRAI believes that the tagging performed by apps could create confusion among subscribers who have permitted calls from certain sectors despite being registered on the DND (Do Not Disturb) service.

**Startling figures from Truecaller**
TRAI's clarification comes at a time when there is significant public frustration regarding calls originating from these numbers. Truecaller CEO Rishit Jhunjhunwala revealed that people ignore—or do not answer—51 million (5.1 crore) calls from the 140 and 1600 series every day.

Sharing some alarming statistics, he stated:
Since October 2025, the call-blocking rate for the 1600 series (designated solely for service calls) has tripled (rising by 208%).
Over the past eight months, users have manually blocked these numbers 74 million (7.4 crore) times.
Currently, Truecaller users block 400,000 calls from the 140 series and 125,000 calls from the 1600 series daily.

Following the new guidelines, it will no longer be possible for subscribers to mark these specific numbers as spam or block them via third-party apps.

Disclaimer: This content has been sourced and edited from Amar Ujala. While we have made modifications for clarity and presentation, the original content belongs to its respective authors and website. We do not claim ownership of the content.