Yes, bulk SMS is legal in India, but it is regulated. TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) requires all businesses sending bulk SMS to register as a Principal Entity (PE) on the DLT (Distributed Ledger Technology) platform, register their sender IDs and message templates, and obtain consumer consent before sending promotional messages.
Sending bulk SMS without DLT registration, or sending unsolicited promotional messages to numbers registered on the National Customer Preference Register (NCPR/DND), is non-compliant and can result in blocked messages or penalties. Transactional and OTP messages have separate compliance routes that don’t require the same opt-in as promotional messages.
In short: bulk SMS itself is fully legal and widely used by banks, e-commerce, and government bodies — the legality hinges on following DLT and TRAI consent rules, not on the practice itself.
Related Llinks: Consumer Protection and DND Registry