This shift reflects more than just consumer protection—it signals a clear warning to the industry: businesses must urgently review and adapt their communication practices to remain compliant. The latest regulatory amendments are not cosmetic updates; they are part of a broader regulatory hardening in response to a market where spam has become pervasive, disruptive, and harmful to user trust.

For marketers, service providers, and telecommunication players, this means aligning promotional strategies with the new consent-driven, transparent, and verifiable framework—or risk severe financial and operational consequences.

For telecom operators, marketers, and enterprises across India’s digital ecosystem, these reforms demand immediate operational, technical, and compliance adjustments. Failure to align with this new regulatory environment could result in (moderate) financial penalties, operational disruptions, and reputational damage.“

What Counts as UCC?

Under India’s Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations (TCCCPR), 2018, UCC is defined as any promotional communication sent without the explicit consent or registered preferences of the recipient. This excludes purely transactional messages, government communications, and TRAI‑authorized alerts. Misleading or unregistered sources are also classified as UCC.

Key Regulatory Updates: TCCCPR (Second Amendment) 2025

On 12 February 2025, TRAI introduced the Second Amendment Regulations (effective immediately, except complaint‑mechanism refinements starting 13 April 2025):

• Mixed-content messages are now all treated as promotional, requiring pre-compliance.
• Auto-diallers and robocalls must be notified to origin access providers in advance.
• Government communications are classified separately but must still be traceable via Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) to prevent misuse.
  Service providers are now obligated to authenticate and trace all senders, limit each sender to two telemarketers, and maintain standardised contracts to enforce traceability using blockchain technology.
• Complaint process has been streamlined: consumers now have a 7-day window to lodge complaints, while providers must respond within 5 days (reduced from 30).
  Shrinking the Consent Gap

One of the most significant changes is the end of “inferred consent” based on previous business relationships. Once a service contract terminates, businesses must obtain fresh, explicit consent to send any promotional content. This provision enhances consumer control and obliges marketers to overhaul opt-in processes, ensuring verifiable permission before launching any promotional campaign.

Simplified Complaint Framework

Consumers can now report spam more easily, without maintaining detailed preference registrations. The simplified process allows reporting with just the recipient’s number, sender’s number, message date, and description—within a 7-day window. Telecom providers are required to act within 5 days, making resolution much faster and more accountable than the previous 30-day requirement.

Repeat offenders face severe consequences, including blacklisting, disconnection of telecom services for up to a year, and even device blocking for persistent violations.

Robust Fines and Penalties

TRAI has introduced a clear penalty structure for violations (converted to USD using ₹1 ≈ $0.01166, May–June 2025 average):

Additional enforcement includes blacklisting, network disconnection, and device blocking. Consumers can forward spam messages to 1909 or report via TRAI’s DND app—with complaints resolved within 5 working days.

The Size of the Spam Problem in India

India faces one of the largest unsolicited communication problems globally:

• Voice spam: India ranks among the top countries for spam calls, with 17 spam calls per user per month, according to Truecaller.
• SMS spam: Approximately 76% of mobile users report receiving at least 3 spam SMS messages daily.
• RCS and WhatsApp spam: Growing rapidly due to rising business use of these platforms; however, formal national data on RCS/WhatsApp spam volume is still limited.
• Email spam: Globally, spam accounts for over 50% of all email traffic; Indian figures align with this, with phishing and promotional spam common across personal and work inboxes.

This widespread problem illustrates why TRAI has increased regulatory and technological intervention—and why the industry must now respond proactively.

Technology-Driven Defence Strategies

India is pioneering the use of blockchain-based Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) to manage and track promotional communication. Key defences include:

• Mandatory DLT registration for message templates and sender identities.
• Caller ID prefixes (such as “140” for telemarketers) to alert consumers.
• Nationwide Do-Not-Disturb (DND) registry.
• Artificial Intelligence tools to detect and block spam.
• Public education campaigns through social media and operator outreach also form part of India’s anti-spam defence.

Regulation is the start, industry must act now.

The TCCCPR Second Amendment (2025) marks a pivotal shift in India’s battle against spam. With tougher rules, explicit consent requirements, accelerated complaint resolution, and innovative blockchain technology, TRAI is sending an unmistakable message: there is less tolerance for unsolicited communication.

For telecom operators, marketers, and enterprises across India’s digital ecosystem, these reforms demand immediate operational, technical, and compliance adjustments. Failure to align with this new regulatory environment could result in (moderate) financial penalties, operational disruptions, and reputational damage.

The question is: will this stance be enough to stop the spam attacks? Potentially not, the fines are relatively small, and the regulation would have to be followed by strict policing and enforcing. The industry cannot leave the regulator to fight the spam battle alone: the industry and the consumers need to respond categorically outside of the specific regulatory requirements.

Despite the potential problems, India’s approach—blending legal rigor with technological innovation—could shape best practices globally. As regulators worldwide study India’s model, industry leaders must prepare for a future where trust, transparency, and customer consent are the cornerstones of all digital communications.