Government data shows that people in the country are being harassed by spam or unwanted calls and messages. The number of complaints against such harassing calls has been increasing steadily since 2022. What is most worrying is that more than 82 percent of these complaints are against unregistered telemarketers. According to the data disclosed by Minister of State for Telecom Pemmasani Chandrasekhar in the Rajya Sabha, more than 20.75 lakh complaints have been filed in the first six months of 2026 alone. This is about 70 percent of the total complaints received in the last full year.
Spam call complaints are increasing year by year:
Replying to a question from Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, the minister said that according to the data received from access providers, out of more than 20 lakh complaints received between January and June 2026, about 17.21 lakh complaints were against unregistered telemarketers alone. That is, more than 82 cases out of every 100 complaints were from unknown numbers or companies that are harassing people by calling or texting them without any registration. In 2021, there were more than 12.84 lakh complaints, while in 2022 there were 10.83 lakh, in 2023 13.62 lakh, in 2024 19.38 lakh, and in 2025 31.09 lakh complaints.
Tough steps and actions:
Various steps are being taken by the government and telecom companies to stop unwanted calls. Between August and December 2024, 19.21 lakh telecom connections of such harassing callers were disconnected. This number came down to 1.94 lakh in 2025, while 79,000 telecom connections were disconnected in the first six months of 2026. Action has been taken not only against unknown numbers, but also against registered telemarketers. While 41 registered telemarketer companies were blacklisted between August and December 2024, 12 were blacklisted in 2025 and 7 companies have been blacklisted till June this year.
