Lok Sabha Question No. 1459 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-07-31
Subject: Regulation of Tariff Rates in Telecom Sector
Ministry: COMMUNICATION
Asked by: Shri Charanjit Singh Channi

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1459 TO BE ANSWERED ON 31 ST  JULY, 2024

## REGULATION OF TARIFF RATES IN TELECOM SECTOR

## 1459   SHRI CHARANJIT SINGH CHANNI:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATION be pleased to state:

(a) whether  the  Government  has  any  specific  provision  to  regulate  tariff  rates  by  telecom companies and if so, the details thereof;

(b) whether  the  Government  has  any  data  regarding  the  data  breach  of  customers  by  the companies, telecom or otherwise during the last ten years and if so, the details thereof, yearwise; and

(c) whether  the  Government  has  taken  any  action  against  such  companies  involved  in  data breaches and data selling during the said period and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR COMMUNICATIONS AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT (DR. PEMMASANI CHANDRA SEKHAR)

(a) Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is an independent authority for regulation of tariff for telecommunication services in India. As per the extant regulatory tariff provisions, tariff for telecommunication  service  is  under  forbearance.  However,  tariffs  for  services  such  as  National Roaming,  Rural  Fixed  Line  Services,  mobile  number  portability  charges  and  leased  circuits  are regulated  by  TRAI.  Tariff  for  USSD  services  is  zero  to  promote  financial  inclusion  among  rural unbanked feature phone users.

(b) & (c) For the FY 2023-2024, two incidents have been reported and for FY 2024-2025, five incidents have been reported. The cause of data breach has not been established in the said instances. Hence, no action was taken on the service providers. The details are annexed .

## ANNEXURE

| Date of reporting   | Brief                                                                                                                                                                       |
|---------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 23.12.2023          | Reports indicated that threat actor "perell" has shared a post regarding probable data leak pertaining to "BSNL".                                                           |
| 23.01.2024          | CERT-In reported that a threat actor named CyboDevil posted a promotion on an underground forum, offering a comprehensive Indian Mobile Network Consumer Database for sale. |
| 20.05.2024          | CERT-In has reported that a threat actor alias "Kiberphant0m" has gained unauthorized root super-access to the servers under BSNL control.                                  |
| 05.07.2024          | On X platform @digitaldutta posted that Airtel data is on sale and has been hacked by Chinese threat actors.                                                                |
| 06.07.2024          | NCIIPC reported that VPN access to the network of TRAI is being sold on an exploits forum.                                                                                  |
| 09.07.2024          | NCIIPC reported that PII data of Tata Tele subscribers on sale at darknet.                                                                                                  |
| 19.07.2024          | NCIIPC, based on inputs from credible sources revealed that 2 TB+ data of Telecommunications Consultants India Limited (TCIL) have been stolen by threat actors.            |

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