Just a day earlier, several news outlets and social media posts had claimed that from December 1, 2024, users will face delays in obtaining one-time passwords for Aadhaar, net banking and other services. According to these reports, the delay will be due to new rules from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, which has ordered telecom operators to trace all messages sent across the country. The report suggests that users may experience disruptions to important transactions, raising widespread concerns. However, this news is fake and TRAI has given clarification on this matter.

TRAI, in a recent post on X, termed these claims of message delays as “factually incorrect”. Reassuring the public, TRAI said in its post that there will be no delay in OTP delivery due to its new message traceability guidelines. The telecom regulator stressed that telecom operators will continue to provide uninterrupted service for essential transactions like OTP while enhancing the security of messaging systems.

In its clarification, TRAI directly addressed the misinformation generated by a news organization’s article that alleged users may face OTP delays under the new rules. “This is factually incorrect. TRAI has mandated access providers to ensure message traceability. This will not delay the delivery of any message,” the regulatory body wrote in its post.

TRAI issues message traceability mandate

The concern over OTP delays stems from TRAI’s recent order requiring telecom providers to implement systems to trace the origin of bulk messages. With these new rules, the telecom regulator aims to curb spam and fraudulent messages.

The order requires telecom operators to ensure that each message can be traced to its original source from the sender to the recipient. Originally scheduled to take effect on November 1, 2024, the compliance deadline was extended to November 30, 2024, to allow time for technology upgrades and announcements by key entities and telemarketers.

TRAI confirmed that access providers have already deployed the necessary infrastructure to comply with the guidelines. Additional time was given to ensure a smooth transition without impacting critical services. The telecom regulator also assured the public that these measures will not compromise the speed or reliability of OTP-based transactions.

Notably, TRAI’s message traceability guidelines are part of a series of recent initiatives aimed at enhancing cyber security and reducing spam. Earlier this year, TRAI introduced penalties for unauthorized promotional calls, including disconnection of telecom resources and blacklisting of offenders for up to two years. In fact, according to TRAI, these measures have yielded significant results, with spam call complaints reduced by 20 percent between August and October 2024.