Social media users are sharing posts claiming that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is planning on imposing fines on people using two SIMs (Subscriber Identity Module) on the same mobile device.
Some posts also claim that network service providers could take this fine from the user as a lump sum or on an annual basis.
(Archives of other posts sharing the same claim can be seen here and here.)
But...?: The claim is misleading.
According to a recent proposal by TRAI, the body is planning on imposing fines on those who have a second SIM on their phones, but do not use the number, effectively keeping the number inactive.
How did we find out the truth?: We ran a keyword search using 'TRAI dual sim fine' as the search term on Google, looking for news reports regarding the claim.
This led us to a report by The Economic Times, which mentioned that TRAI had put out a proposal to "regulate numbering resources."
The report mentioned that the authority considers phone numbers to be an "exceedingly valuable public resource which is not finite," therefore planning on imposing charges on mobile operators which have numbers with low utilisation.
The operators may, in turn, charge the owners of the numbers which have not been used for a long period of time, either as a lump sum or in the form of an annual fee.
Essentially, the proposed fine would only apply to those who own two phone numbers but do not use one of them.
TRAI's paper and clarification: On TRAI's website, we found the consultation paper titled "Revision of National Numbering Plan" and a press release for the same.
Neither of the documents mentioned any charges or fines for people with dual SIMs in their phones.
However, a section of the consultation paper discussed special and vanity numbers, which telecom service providers (TSPs) allot to their customers, who in turn may or may not use them, or hoard them, leading to "inefficient utilization of numbering resources."
TRAI suggested imposing "one-time", or "annual recurring" charges for the underutilised numbers on the TSP, while also imposing "financial disincentives" on TSPs who hold on the deactivated phone numbers without reallocating them.
The body also shared another press release on 14 June, to clarify the confusion referred to in the viral claim.
It referred to the viral claim, stating that the "speculation" that TRAI was planning on imposing charges on customers "for holding multiple SIMs/numbering resources is unequivocally false."
It also issued the same clarification in a post on their X (formerly Twitter) account.
Conclusion: The claim that TRAI is planning on imposing fines on customers with multiple numbers or SIM cards is misleading.
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