The Centre has stepped up its efforts to combat fraudulence under the pretext of fake identities. The Department of Telecommunications has directed all telecom service providers to introduce Calling Name Presentation from November 1, 2026. CNAP is India’s verified caller identification system which displays the caller details.
As per the order, CNAP will be enabled by defuslt for every user on 4G and higher generation mobile networks. When you receive a call, tbe CNAP will display the number and the name of the person. For 2G,3G and public networks a separate system will be considered the order said.
As per the order, when a call is recieved the screen will display the caller details like number and name as saved in the phone’ contact in the first and second field respectively. If the number is new then tbe callers name as recorded jn the originating telecom operators subscriber database will be shown. For international calls, the screen will display the words “International Call.”
Under the new order, each telecom service provider will have to establish, operate and maintain a database mapping subscribers name to their numbers. A security first design approach is being expected to be incorporated by the telecom providers. Under this approach, the caller’s name cannot be retained through the query-response mechanism after the incoming call ends. The names of users who have availed themselves of the Calling Line Identification Restriction facility will not be displayed.
For bulk connections and bussinesses, an option of displaying a preferred name instead of the name in their subscriber records. It should either be a trademark registered in the user’s name with the Trade Marks Registry or a trade name registered on the Goods and Services Tax portal. Operators must verify the name and supporting documents. Existing subscribers will have to apply to update their preferred name.
The move comes against the backdrop of trials on 4G and 5G networks in the past few months. Besides a recommendation based on the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI’s) February 2024 is also cited in the notice.