From 1 November 2026, mobile phone users in India on 4G and 5G will start seeing a caller name beside the number for calls from numbers they have not saved. The change comes under Calling Name Presentation, known as CNAP, which the Department of Telecommunications has directed operators to introduce across their service areas.
The department issued the direction for CNAP in a circular dated 13 October 2026. It covers Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and state-owned BSNL, and it applies without a separate request from subscribers. Users do not need to install an app or switch anything on, and the name will come from the network itself rather than from a caller identification app on the phone.
There is nothing for most subscribers to set up. The service works by default on supported networks, so a person who receives a call from an unsaved number should see the name attached to that number in a second field on the screen. A saved contact will still show the name stored in the phone, which means the change affects unfamiliar numbers first.
How CNAP will work
Under CNAP, when a call arrives from a number that is not in the recipient’s contacts, the screen will carry two fields: the number and a name. That name comes from the subscriber record held by the operator from whose network the call starts, in most cases the name given during Know Your Customer checks. If the number is already saved, the name stored in the phone takes priority, so saved contacts will look the same as before.
Calls from outside India will be treated differently. An unsaved international number will show the words “International Call” instead of a name. Subscribers who use Calling Line Identification Restriction, a facility that restricts caller identification, will not have their names shown.
The service also allows a preferred name option for users with business or bulk connections, according to Outlook Money’s account of the circular. That detail matters for firms whose lines are registered under a company name rather than an individual name.
CNAP and older networks
The first phase covers wireless networks that use 4G and newer technology, including 5G. Users on 2G and 3G networks and users of fixed-line connections fall outside the first phase. The department has said it will consider those networks separately, and it has not announced a date for extending the service to them.
CNAP reaches users on older networks only in a later phase, if the department decides to extend it. Until then, a person on a 2G or 3G connection or a landline will keep seeing numbers without a network-supplied name, even after the November start.
Why CNAP took years to reach phones
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India recommended CNAP in February 2024, with subscribers able to request it. In September 2025 the department asked the regulator to reconsider that approach, and in October 2025 the regulator agreed to a service that works by default, with an opt-out option. Trials followed in November 2025, with Jio, Vodafone Idea and BSNL testing in Haryana and Airtel testing in Himachal Pradesh. An earlier nationwide deadline in March 2026 passed without full coverage.
The long run-up reflects the work involved in passing a name between networks. Each operator must supply the name from its own records at the time a call is made, and the receiving network must show it without delay. Reports on the rollout have also pointed to gaps in subscriber records, since prepaid numbers change hands often and registrations can lag behind the person now using a number.
What CNAP does not promise
A displayed name is not proof that a call is genuine. Reports on the rollout have warned that a name comes from a record, and that record can name the person who registered the SIM rather than the person now making the call. Callers who ask for personal details, one-time passwords, bank details or money should still be treated with caution, whatever name appears on the screen.
The department has presented the service as a way to help people identify unfamiliar callers and to support action against fraud and spam calls. Whether CNAP cuts scam calls in practice will depend on how completely operators switch it on, how accurate their records are, and how callers respond. For now, the change that users will notice is a small one: an unsaved number will arrive with a name attached, drawn from the network rather than from an app on the phone.