What India - Regulatory Status and Compliance Obligations for Over-the-Top (OTT) Communication Services (Telecommunications Act 2023, IT Rules 2021, CERT-In Directions, Equalisation Levy) requires
As of 2026 India has no dedicated registration or licensing regime for Over-the-Top (OTT) communication services such as internet messaging and calling applications (for example WhatsApp, Signal and Telegram). The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) examined OTT regulation in its July 2023 Consultation Paper on a Regulatory Mechanism for Over-The-Top Communication Services and Selective Banning of OTT Services, but, consistent with its 2020 position, did not recommend an OTT-specific authorisation or registration framework, and its 2024 recommendations on the authorisation framework under the Telecommunications Act 2023 did not bring OTT communication services into the telecom authorisation regime. The Telecommunications Act 2023 (Act 44 of 2023) establishes an authorisation requirement for providing telecommunication services (Section 3), powers over standards (Section 19), public emergency and public safety measures (Section 20), national security measures (Section 21), protection of telecommunication networks and services (Section 22), protection of users (Chapter VII, Sections 28 to 30) and offences (Section 42); whether internet-based OTT communication services fall within the Act's definition of telecommunication service is unsettled and has not been extended to OTT by notification. OTT communication and content platforms are, however, subject as intermediaries to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021, to the CERT-In Directions of 28 April 2022 (incident reporting within six hours and 180-day log retention), to the Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023, and, for non-resident operators, to the Equalisation Levy under the Finance Act 2020.
Pillar: Telecoms & Digital Infrastructure · Authority: Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), Ministry of Communications; Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY); Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) · Version: 1.1.0 · Last updated:
Primary source: https://www.indiacode.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/20101/1/A2023-44.pdf
SHA-256 integrity: 3ef668ef402239c97a1a95eb7226dce115cc2c415feec0f06fa90c9772fc4166
Primary Citations — 6 traced to source
- Telecommunications Act 2023 (Act No. 44 of 2023), Section 3 (Authorisation), Section 19 (Power to notify standards), Section 20 (Provisions for public emergency or public safety), Section 21 (Measures for national security), Section 22 (Protection of telecommunication network and telecommunication services), Sections 28 to 30 (Chapter VII, Protection of Users), Section 42 (General provisions relating to offences) - https://www.indiacode.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/20101/1/A2023-44.pdf
- TRAI, Consultation Paper on Regulatory Mechanism for Over-The-Top (OTT) Communication Services, and Selective Banning of OTT Services (July 2023); TRAI did not recommend a dedicated OTT registration or licensing regime - https://www.trai.gov.in/
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