> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://plivo.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# India Calling Regulations

> Regulatory requirements, number series rules, and compliance setup for voice calling within India

<Info title="TL;DR">
  * **What:** Regulatory requirements for making and receiving voice calls within India
  * **Eligibility:** Only India-registered businesses can rent Indian numbers and use domestic routes. Non-India businesses must use international routes (higher rates)
  * **Media anchoring:** Both call legs must originate and terminate in India. Cross-border routing causes call failure
  * **Number series:** Landline (022, 080, etc.) for service/transactional only; 160-series for BFSI only; 140-series (promotional) currently unavailable
  * **Consent required:** Cold calling is prohibited. You must have explicit digital consent before commercial calls, or face [UCC penalties](/voice/concepts/ucc-management)
</Info>

Regulatory requirements, eligibility rules, and compliance setup for voice calling within India.

***

## Eligibility

Only businesses registered in India can:

* Rent Indian phone numbers
* Make domestic calls within India
* Use India domestic routes

If your business is outside India, you must use international routes. This means calls are placed at international rates and display a US or international Caller ID — not an Indian number.

***

## Requirements

| Requirement               | Details                                                                            |
| ------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Business registration** | India-registered businesses only                                                   |
| **KYC compliance**        | Required before renting Indian numbers ([submit KYC](/numbers/rent-india-numbers)) |
| **Caller ID**             | Must use Plivo-rented Indian phone number                                          |
| **Media anchoring**       | Both call legs must stay within India                                              |

***

## Media Anchoring Rule

Both legs of a call must originate and terminate within India. Violating this causes calls to fail with `violates_media_anchoring` hangup cause.

***

## Compliant Call Architecture

| Call Type      | Requirement                        |
| -------------- | ---------------------------------- |
| **Inbound**    | India to India                     |
| **Outbound**   | Indian number to India destination |
| **Conference** | All participants must be in India  |

***

## Number Series Regulations

TRAI mandates specific number series for specific call types. Using the wrong series is itself a regulatory violation — complaints arising from such calls are treated as UCC regardless of consent.

| Number Series                        | Permitted Use                                                                     | Status on Plivo                                                           |
| ------------------------------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **140 series**                       | Promotional voice calls only                                                      | Available ([provisioning guide](/voice/concepts/140-series-provisioning)) |
| **Landline series** (e.g., 022, 080) | Service and transactional calls only. Promotional content is strictly prohibited. | Available                                                                 |
| **160 series** (BFSI)                | Service and transactional calls — BFSI sector only                                | Available ([provisioning guide](/voice/concepts/160-series-provisioning)) |

<Warning>
  **Cold calling is prohibited in India.** You need explicit digital consent before making commercial calls, and must comply with TRAI guidelines. Calls made without valid consent are treated as Unsolicited Commercial Communication (UCC). See [UCC Management](/voice/concepts/ucc-management) for enforcement details.
</Warning>

***

## Account Setup for India

If you need both India and international calling:

1. Create two separate Plivo accounts with different email addresses
2. [Sign up for an India data region Plivo account](https://www.plivo.com/request-trial/)

***

## Related

* [India Number KYC](/numbers/rent-india-numbers) — KYC documents and number rental process
* [140-Series Numbers](/voice/concepts/140-series-provisioning) — Setup guide for promotional voice numbers
* [160-Series Numbers](/voice/concepts/160-series-provisioning) — Setup guide for BFSI transactional and service voice numbers
* [UCC Management](/voice/concepts/ucc-management) — How Plivo handles UCC complaints and what you need to do
* [Carrier Failover](/voice/concepts/carrier-failover) — Automatic carrier failover for uninterrupted outbound calling
* [Payments](/faq/billing-and-invoices/payments) — Payment methods for India