Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI)

Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (fri)

December 23, 2025

Kamaraj IAS Academy

Prelims Plus

Subject Reference: GS Paper III (Indian Economy - Banking & Tech)

The News (Dec 2025): The DoT's FRI initiative has reportedly saved ₹660 crore in just six months by flagging high-risk mobile numbers to banks and UPI apps.
Apt Topic: "Predictive Analytics in Financial Regulation"
The Mechanism: The FRI uses data from the Chakshplatform and the Sanchar Saathi portal to categorize mobile numbers as Medium, High, or Very High Risk.
Strategic Impact: It moves from "reactive" (reporting a fraud after it happens) to "proactive" (preventing the transaction). This is vital for maintaining trust in the Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI).