Your phone will soon tell you who’s calling: Govt mandates unknown caller names from November 1

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has directed all telecom operators to display the caller’s name alongside the phone number on the recipient’s screen from November 1, as India moves towards making caller identification a default feature for domestic calls. 

The October 13 directive on the Calling Name Presentation (CNAP) service applies to all telecom operators holding a licence or authorisation to provide access services across all service areas. 

Under the new system, incoming domestic calls will display the caller’s number and name. If the recipient has saved the number in their contacts, the stored name will appear on the screen. Otherwise, the name registered in the originating telecom operator’s subscriber database will be displayed. For international calls, the screen will show the words “International Call”. 

Airtel, Jio, and Vi have conducted trials 

According to the DoT order, telecom operators, including Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio, and Vodafone Idea, have conducted trials to introduce the name presentation service on wireless terrestrial networks. The rollout follows trials on 4G and 5G networks over the past few months. 

Under the prescribed display format, the caller’s number will appear in the first field, followed by the name saved in the recipient’s contacts. If the number is not saved, the system will display the caller’s name as recorded in the originating operator’s subscriber database. 

Each telecom service provider will be required to establish, operate and maintain a database mapping subscribers’ names to their phone numbers. The operator receiving the call will retrieve the relevant name through this database and display it to the recipient. 

Privacy safeguards and restrictions 

The DoT has mandated a security-by-design approach to protect subscriber information. Under the prescribed mechanism, the caller’s name cannot be retained through the query-response process after the incoming call ends. 

The names of subscribers who have opted for the Calling Line Identification Restriction (CLIR) facility, which allows them to withhold their caller identity, will not be displayed. 

For business and bulk connections, operators may allow subscribers to display a preferred name instead of the name recorded in their subscriber database. The preferred name must either be a trademark registered in the subscriber’s name with the Trade Marks Registry or a trade name registered on the GST portal. 

Telecom operators will have to verify the preferred name and supporting documents before allowing its display. Existing subscribers seeking to use a preferred name will need to apply for the change. 

TRAI recommendations paved the way 

The directive follows the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) February 2024 recommendations on introducing caller name presentation services. 

In October 2025, TRAI agreed with the DoT’s proposal to make CNAP available by default. This marked a shift from the regulator’s original recommendation, which had proposed activating the service only when requested by subscribers. The new framework is aimed at making caller identification more widely available and helping users identify incoming calls, including those from numbers not saved in their contact lists.