What is CNAP: Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has gradually started implementing the Calling Name Presentation or CNAP feature in India. Under this technology, now with every incoming call the verified name of the caller will appear on the screen. After its framework was approved in October 2025, its live testing started last month and is now being rolled out in a phased manner on different networks. It is expected that this facility will be activated for all mobile users by March or April 2026.
Why was there a need to bring CNAP?
In the last few years, cases of fake calls, tele-scams and fraud by impersonating banks or government officials have increased rapidly. The situation has become such that people have started shying away from even picking up calls from unknown numbers. TRAI believes that if the real and verified name of the caller is visible along with the call, it will help the users in taking the right decision and the cases of fraud will reduce.
How is CNAP different from other caller ID apps?
The biggest thing that makes CNAP special is its data source. This feature does not depend on any third-party app or names given by users. Instead, the caller’s name is taken directly from the KYC-verified records of the telecom companies. This is the same information which is given through official documents like Aadhaar while getting a SIM. This means that the name that will appear during the call will be the name legally associated with that number, and not a tag entered by someone guessed.
Rollout is happening in phases
Telecom companies had started the trial of CNAP on selected networks last month so that its performance could be seen in real conditions. At present, this facility is being extended to 4G and 5G users first while older networks will be added later. Apart from this, TRAI has also asked smartphone companies to ensure to provide CNAP support in their devices within six months.
What is the difference between Truecaller and CNAP
Truecaller is already quite popular in India but CNAP works differently from it. Truecaller relies on user-submitted and crowdsourced names, which are prone to errors or misleading information. Whereas CNAP is a network-level feature and does not require any app. This makes it difficult to create fake identities, although users get less customization options.
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