The Government has proposed a penalty of up to two crore rupees on unlawful phone tapping. The present amount is just 500 rupees. In a communication to the Prime Minister’s Office, the Department of Telecom (DoT) has proposed the imposition of a penalty between one lakh and two crore rupees for breaches under different sections of the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885. Amendments to the Indian Telegraph Rules for electronic provision and collection of Call Data Records have also been proposed. The move assumes significance in the wake of the Niira Radia tapes and their leakage to the media.