The Department of Telecommunications (DoT), under the Ministry of Communications, has blocked around 85.11 lakh mobile connections to clear up the telecom ecosystem and ensure safe and secure communication practices across India. It has been achieved through an AI-based tool developed for identifying mobile connections obtained on fake documents. 

The fake numbers have been disconnected by the telecom service providers after re-verification. Among the 85.11 lakh mobile connections, 6.78 lakh mobile connections have been disconnected based on the reports of involvement in cybercrime. 

Enhanced KYC procedure 

To enhance the current Know Your Customer (KYC) framework for issuing mobile connections, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has now mandated that telecom licensees register their Points of Sale (PoS), including franchisees, distributors, and agents, who enroll customers and issue SIM cards on their behalf. These guidelines, among other things, state:

1. Indisputable verification of each PoS through biometric verification, and physical verification of the address of the place of business & local residence for PoS. Additionally, police verification of PoS in Jammu & Kashmir, Assam & North East License Service Areas (LSAs) has been made compulsory.
2. The signing of inter-se agreements having specific provisions related to the scope & duties of PoS, area of operation (limited within the LSA), and penal action for violation including termination of the agreement has been made compulsory.
3. Blacklisting of PoS across all the TSPs if documents/ information given by PoS is false/ forged & on the directions of Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs)/ LSAs has been made compulsory.
4. A re-verification of all mobile subscribers enrolled by that blacklisted PoS to ensure no further proliferation.
5. A penalty of Rs 10 lakh per PoS per instance has been imposed if any existing PoS is found enrolling customers without registration after 31.01.2025.

Private Telcos are also trying their best to keep the system clean and hygienic. 

Read about it here: No more spam calls all day, Airtel’s AI-powered spam-blocking mechanism tramples 8 billion calls since its launch

Robust KYC mechanism 

Additionally, DoT has revised the existing KYC instructions, including the discontinuation of the previous bulk connections framework and the introduction of a business connections framework. The new framework requires the KYC of each end-user to be completed before activation. Moreover, a comprehensive KYC process for Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) swaps and replacements has been introduced. The paper-based KYC process has also been discontinued.

To know more about cleaning up read about the recently enacted traceability guidelines at: Telcos Urge Extension on Traceability Guidelines as Telemarketers Lack Technical Compliance