The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has agreed with the Department of Telecom (DoT) to make the real name of the caller appear by default on phone screens when someone makes a call. This means that people receiving calls will be able to see the caller’s real name, based on the identity used while getting the mobile connection.

This step was mentioned in TRAI’s recommendations on “Introduction of Calling Name Presentation (CNAP) in Telecommunication Networks”, which were shared earlier.

Across the world, many countries have started using CNAM (Calling Name Presentation) systems to stop people from falling victim to fake or fraudulent calls. These services help reduce cybercrimes like digital arrest scams and financial fraud, where callers pretend to be officials.

By showing the original registered name of the caller, people can judge whether a call is trustworthy or suspicious.

However, TRAI also noted that some users choose a facility called Calling Line Identification Restriction (CLIR). This service allows users to hide their phone numbers and identities for privacy reasons.

The DoT is likely to accept TRAI’s suggestion that if a subscriber is using CLIR, then their caller name should not be shown to the person receiving the call.