The Telecommunications Commercial Communications Consumers Preference Regulations, 2018 (TCCCPR-2018), issued by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), govern the control and prevention of Unsolicited Commercial Communication (UCC) or spam. The framework enables telecom subscribers to register preferences to either block all or selectively allow commercial communications. It also prescribes a complaint mechanism via TRAI’s mobile app, SMS to 1909, or by calling 1909. Enforcement measures include blacklisting of persistent violators, actions against unregistered telemarketers (UTMs) such as warnings, usage caps, or disconnection, and financial disincentives against access service providers for failure to curb UCC.

• Complaint Filing Window: Extended from 3 days to 7 days after receipt of UCC.
• Action Timeline: Reduced from 30 days to 5 days for taking action against UCC from unregistered senders.
• Compliance Stringency: Revised and more stringent criteria for prompt action against UCC senders.
• Consumer Awareness: Mandatory initiatives by access providers to:

1. 1. Publicise procedures for preference registration, consent management, and revocation.
   2. Facilitate complaint submission and UCC reporting.
   3. Educate consumers against participating in UCC, with penalties such as disconnection of telecom resources for violations.