India backs an ITU joint trial to verify caller identity on international networks at an India Mobile Congress round table

9 October 2026

Union Minister of State for Communications and Rural Development, Dr Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani, delivered the keynote at the ITU Round Table on 'Implementing ITU Standards to Combat Fraudulent Communications', held during India Mobile Congress 2026.
India welcomed an ITU proposal for a joint trial involving governments, regulators, operators and technology companies to digitally verify caller identity on international networks in line with ITU standards.
The Minister said Indians lost over ₹22,800 crore to such fraud in 2024, and that fraud is a network problem that needs network-based and global solutions.
He said ASTR has helped disconnect over 82 lakh fraudulent connections and the Sanchar Saathi app has recorded around 25 million downloads.
The Digital Intelligence Platform connects over 1,600 organisations, and the Financial Fraud Risk Indicator has helped prevent suspected financial losses exceeding ₹5,000 crore in 15 months.
He suggested beginning trials on selected international routes between willing countries and feeding the experience back into ITU standards, and said trust must be built into 6G networks from the start.