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Centre Mulls International Gateway Blocks to Curb Telecom Fraud

The Centre is actively examining measures to curb telecom fraud, including blocking at international gateways and enhancing information sharing among telecom operators. Union Minister Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani highlighted the need for coordinated action across TSPs during the COAI DigiCom Summit 2026. He also cautioned against the misuse of emerging technologies like Mythos-Anthropic AI. Vodafone Idea CEO Abhijit Kishore noted the company is in a reassessment phase but pointed to improving subscriber trends.

Key Points: Telecom Fraud: Centre Weighs Gateway Blocks, Info Sharing

  • Centre examines international gateway blocks to curb telecom fraud
  • Better information sharing among TSPs being explored
  • Minister warns against misuse of emerging AI technologies
  • Vodafone Idea CEO reassesses company, sees subscriber improvement
2 min read

Centre weighs international gateway blocks, info sharing to tackle telecom fraud

Union Minister Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani says Centre is examining international gateway blocks and info sharing among operators to tackle telecom fraud.

"If one TSP does an effective intervention, it should translate quickly to other TSPs. - Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani"

New Delhi, April 24

Measures to curb telecom fraud, including blocking at international gateways and better information sharing among operators, are being actively examined, Union Minister of State for Communications Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani said on the sidelines of the COAI DigiCom Summit 2026 in Delhi.

Highlighting the need for coordinated action across telecom service providers (TSPs), Pemmasani said, "e-KYC, information sharing... if one TSP does an effective intervention, it should translate quickly to other TSPs... whether we can block at the international gateway level."

He added that multiple mechanisms are being explored to strengthen fraud detection and prevention systems. "There are multiple ways... they have mechanisms to identify how we are doing, Sanchar Saathi. They should be able to do the same things and then share with them," he said.

On concerns around emerging technologies such as Mythos-Anthropic AI, the minister cautioned against misuse. "These are all the things that we have to do, but at the same time... that stuff should not also go into the wrong hands... we will be taking all these things into picture," he said.

Pemmasani further noted that the government will examine these issues through its digital intelligence systems. "At the digital intelligence platform, we look into all these things. That is something also we will be taking," he added.

Abhijit Kishore, Chief Executive Officer of Vodafone Idea Limited, also attended the event, where he spoke about the company's reassessment exercise. "Reassessment is going on... we'll come back once the reassessment is over... hopefully it should happen soon," he said.

Kishore said the company is currently in a "silent period" ahead of results. "We are in a silent period right now, because the reports are not out... can't really make any comment," he said.

However, he pointed to improving subscriber trends based on publicly available data. "Feb and March numbers have been published by TRAI ... we have moved from being a negative sub-addition into a positive territory... you can see a clear improvement," he said, adding that further clarity will come after official disclosures.

On developments around Anthropic or Mythos AI, Kishore said activity in the sector is increasing but declined to comment in detail. "Whether it's Anthropic or not... there is a lot of work happening in that sector... we'll wait for the government to come back... on the reassessment," he said.

- ANI

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Reader Comments

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Priya S
Good initiative, but I worry about privacy. More info sharing between TSPs could mean our personal data gets leaked. Sanchar Saathi is helpful, but we need strong data protection laws first. Also, what about the loopholes in e-KYC that allow SIM cards to be issued on fake documents?
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Michael C
Interesting to see India tackling this head-on. Back in the US, we have similar issues with robocalls from spoofed numbers. The international gateway block sounds like a smart move—if executed properly. But isn't there a risk of legitimate traffic being affected? Need to see the fine print.
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Rohit P
Good to see Vi's CEO talking about improvement—finally some positive news from them! But on the fraud front, I think the bigger problem is fake Indian numbers being used abroad. Why don't they also mandate stricter verification for NRIs getting Indian SIMs? And Mythos AI? Sounds like another buzzword. Let's focus on basics first. 👍
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Siddharth J
As someone who works in telecom, this is a much-needed step. International gateway blocking can cut down 70% of spam calls if done right. But info sharing between TSPs is tricky—competition law issues? Also, the digital intelligence platform needs to be transparent about how data is used. Let's see the implementation details.
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Emma D
I appreciate the government's effort—India has massive potential if they can curb fraud. But I'm skeptical about the "Mythos-Anthropic AI" concern. Is that even a real threat right now? Feels like they're jumping on the AI hype train. Focus on blocking those scam call centres operating from other countries first.

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