Why is a phone call received from the number 1921 genuine and important?

India, according to the myGov COVID-19 Dashboard, has recorded 15,474 COVID-19 active cases, 3,869 cured/discharged cases and 640 deaths as on 22 April 2020, 08:00 am. The fear of infection spreading at a fast rate is very high even amid strict lockdown conditions and social distancing practices.

The government, therefore, has launched a slew of services (like the Aarogya Setu App) to create awareness on the spread of the infection and has also ensured that a door-to-door survey is conducted to take a census of people infected but are unwilling to disclose.

Going further with its initiatives, the Government of India will be conducting a Telephonic Survey calling up citizens on their mobile phones across the country. This will be carried out by NIC and calls will be coming into mobile phones from the calling number 1921.

The public has been informed that the call will be coming into mobile phones from the calling number 1921 only. The Government has clarified that this is a genuine survey and is requested to participate in a good measure when a call comes in from 1921 to enable proper feedback on the prevalence and distribution of COVID symptoms.

The government has also warned the public to be aware of any other calls by pranksters or calls from any other number in the guise of such similar survey.

The States/UTs have also been requested to inform about the public in their States/UTs about the survey and about its official nature of this exercise and also create awareness of any other calls by pranksters or phishing/fishing attempts from any other number.