The government on Thursday said that the much-awaited National Do Not Call (NDNC) Registry aimed at curbing unsolicited telemarketing calls was likely to be set up by September 5, 2007.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India on June 5 had set a three-month deadline for setting up of the NDNC Registry while sending to the Department of Telecommunications, a set of recommendations on ending the menace of such calls.
Replying to supplementaries during Question Hour in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Communications and IT, Shakeel Ahmad confirmed that such a registry was being set up, and added that cell phone users could register their numbers with it from September 5, if they did not want to receive telemarketing calls and SMS.
“Once registered with NDNC, the registration will be valid for 10 years,” he said. “This Registry does not discriminate between the poor and the rich. Any mobile subscriber can request his/her own service provider to get his number included in NDNC Registry. This facility is free of cost for subscribers,” he added.
The Registry will be applicable to unwanted telemarketing SMS messages also. He said there was no plan to set up a “positive” registry of numbers of people who wanted to receive such unsolicited calls and SMS.
The DoT has informed telemarketing firms that they have to register with it by August 31 to avoid facing action. Any telemarketer calling a number listed on the Registry would pay a fine of Rs 500 a call, and face disconnection of their numbers if the offence gets repeated.