India’s telecom operators must begin displaying callers’ KYC-registered names on mobile screens from 1 November, with exemptions for restricted numbers and safeguards for privacy and complaints.
India’s telecom operators will soon have to show the registered names of incoming callers on mobile screens, after the Department of Telecommunications ordered the rollout of Calling Name Presentation, or CNAP, from 1 November. The system is intended to pair a caller’s number with the name linked to that subscriber’s Know Your Customer, or KYC, records, giving recipients a clearer view of who is calling before they answer.
The move has been under discussion for years. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India first floated the idea in 2022, and operators have spent recent months running limited trials within their own networks. According to reports from Indian outlets, the government has pushed ahead after concluding that caller-name display could help curb spam, phishing and other forms of fraud, while still leaving the receiver rather than the caller with access to the information.
The rollout is expected to apply first to wireless networks using 4G and newer technologies. Several reports said the department has asked operators to ensure their systems can support the feature without harming call quality or compromising privacy through unnecessary storage of displayed names. The requirement also appears to leave out users covered by Caller Line Identity Restriction, including senior officials and certain security and intelligence users.
There are, however, practical complications. For people whose SIM cards were originally registered in a parent’s name, the caller-name display may still show the parent’s identity until the ownership is formally transferred. The department has also said operators must set up processes to receive and resolve complaints about the service in a timely way, indicating that the rollout will be treated as an ongoing operational change rather than a one-time switch.
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