India's Department of Telecom has instructed the nation's operators to file weekly reports on the issue of frequent call drops, and to improve service immediately in the hardest hit areas.
The ministry has told mobile operators to address problem areas, including the Supreme Court and Sanchar Bhawan areas in the national capital, the Economic Timesreported.
All operators have been directed to file a report into their network performance and the efforts made to address the issue, and subsequently submit weekly reports.
Research by the ministry shows that there was a two-fold increase in call drops over 2G and 65% increase over 3G call drops in a one-year period.
The industry average of call drop incidents was 12.5%, while regulatory norms restrict call drops in the worst case scenario to 3% of total calls over a network.
But the call drop issue is at least partly due to factors outside of operators' control. India's oversaturated mobile market has left operators struggling to provide services using a meager allocation of spectrum.
In addition, regulations, red tape and a distrust in mobile towers among the public due to radiation fears have left operators unable to deploy towers in strategically important locations. The telecom ministry has pledged to raise the matter with local authorities.