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Our Bureau

NO CALL: A file photo of a telecom centre

New Delhi June 5 Unwanted telemarketing calls and short messages propagating products and services will now be a thing of the past.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India on Tuesday issued a stringent regulation, which includes a fine of Rs 500 on telemarketers for every unsolicited commercial call or short message to subscribers who have got their telephone number listed on the National Do Not Call (NDNC) Registry.

The National Informatics Centre (NIC) will create such a registry within three months. Subscribers of both fixed line telephone and mobile phones who do not wish to get calls from telemarketers can get their numbers listed in the registry through their service provider.

Telemarketers will also have to get themselves registered with the NDNC and verify their calling telephone numbers with the registry before making a call. If a subscriber gets a call from telemarketers even after putting their number in the registry then he can lodge a complaint with his service provider by giving the details of the phone number from where the unwanted call originated.

The telemarketing company will be given a warning for the first offence. If the same company makes a call to a subscriber listed on the NDNC a second time then a fine of Rs 500 will be imposed.

TRAI has instructed telecom service providers to disconnect all lines offered to a telemarketing company if it calls any subscriber in the NDNC list more than twice. As per its estimates more than two billion telemarketing calls are made in India every year.

While the move spells relief to consumers, banks and financial service providers will be the biggest losers as they extensively use telemarketers to sell their products and services. TRAI has, therefore, approached the Reserve Bank of India and Indian Banks' Association to ensure that the banking sector engages no telemarketers without valid registration certificate issued from the DoT.

The RBI has extended full support for this scheme. Other agencies making voice calls or sending SMSs for marketing of products, including those content providers who offer various services through SMS and voice using short codes, also fall in the category of telemarketers.

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Telemarketing: Hefty fines likely on unwanted calls

More Stories on : M-Commerce | Privacy | Regulatory Bodies & Rulings

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