With mobile phone users put to great inconvenience due to the cap of five text messages per day imposed in the aftermath of spread of rumours leading to exodus of northeasterners from several parts of the country, the government on Thursday increased the limit to 20 a day.
The relaxation will continue till the end of the ban on August 31. The government had imposed the ban on bulk SMSes and MMSes on August 17.
The ban was imposed after parliamentarians, cutting across party lines, sought a check on spread of rumours which led to northeastern people leaving in droves from cities like Bangalore, Hyderabad and Pune.
Notifying the revised order, the ministry of communications said, "The other conditions will remain the same." It means mobile phone users can send a maximum 20 SMSes in one day. As far as MMSes are concerned, users can send only up to 20 KB of data in one go during the ban period.
The decision to put a cap on the number of text messages and data through mobile phones was taken after reports of widespread circulation of SMSes and MMSes containing misleading information and 'doctored' pictures of Assam violence.
An official said, "The decision to relax the permissible limit was taken after reviewing need and response of users, specifically pre-paid mobile customers who had to face a lot of problems due to restrictions from telecom operators."
Though such a ban may not put a complete check on spread of false or misleading information, officials believe this coupled with strict monitoring of flow of text messages will act as a deterrent.