Setting up of telemarketer's register postponed

NEW DELHI, INDIA: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has postponed the dates for setting up of the national telemarketer register (NTR), a nodal point for the registration of telemarketers, due to security reasons.

The registration process, which was supposed to be effective from Wednesday would enable all the telemarketers to fill in online application forms for getting themselves registered.

The record would contain details of the telemarketers such as their registration date, application number, details of the fees deposited and also details of the telecom resources allotted to them.

The register would also maintain the details of the notices served to a telemarketer for sending unsolicited messages or calls.

"Having regard to the aspect of security audit of the website to be created for the purpose of these regulations and the other processes involved, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has found it necessary to re-determine the dates for implementation of the aforesaid regulations," the regulator said in a statement.

Minister of State for Communications Sachin Pilot Tuesday asked all the government websites to adhere to the web security guidelines and those issued by the National Informatics Centre (NIC), in the wake of the recent attack on the Central Bureau of Investigation website.

According to Indian Computer Emergency Response Team, all government websites should be audited for quality and security prior to hosting. CERT-In has empanelled over 50 IT security auditors to check IT infrastructure of the organisations.

Earlier this month the telecom watchdog had announced a set of new measures to curb unsolicited commercial calls and messages including a fine of Rs.25,000 to Rs.250,000 for the defaulting companies and allocation of a number starting with "70" to the telemarketers making it easy for the customers to recognize the numbers.