New Delhi: In a bid to curb calls from unknown numbers asking about loans, insurance, or credit cards, most of them fraudulent, the Centre has announced that from Nov. 1, telecom operators must implement a system that displays a caller’s officially registered name right on the customer’s mobile phone screen when they call you.
The Department of Telecommunications has ordered all access service providers to introduce Calling Name Presentation (CNAP) across every service area on that date, according to a circular dated Oct. 13.
The service will be activated without any request from the user. Under the circular, the caller’s number will appear as it does today, with a second field showing the name. If the number is saved in the recipient’s contacts, the contact name takes precedence.
If it is not, a domestic call will show the name on record with the caller’s telecom operator and an international call will show only the words “International Call”. Users who have opted for calling line identification restriction (CLIR) will not have their names displayed.
Identification of the caller can include the telephone identifier assigned by a telecom service provider, the subscriber’s name recorded in its records, or any other identification specified by the licensor.
The setup relies on telecom providers maintaining databases that match phone numbers with the verified names people provided when signing up for their SIM cards. When a call comes in, the receiving network, queries that database on the fly to fetch the right identity. Each caller’s operator must maintain a database mapping names to numbers, which the recipient’s operator will query when a call comes in. The circular requires a “security-by-design” approach under which the query itself ensures the name is not retained once the call ends.
The rollout covers wireless networks built on 4G and higher technologies, where operators have run trials. The department said 2G, 3G and landline networks will be “considered separately, after examination of the matter.”
This post was published on October 16, 2026 7:30 pm