NEW DELHI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has introduced new rules for mobile recharge plans, requiring telecom operators to offer more recharge options without bundled mobile data, with tariffs reduced appropriately. Under the new rules, Jio, Airtel and Vi users will now have more voice-and-SMS-only plans to choose from.
According to TRAI, the changes aim to give consumers more flexibility, particularly low-income users, senior citizens and those who rely on Wi-Fi for internet access and do not want to pay for mobile data they rarely use.
The amendment requires Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea (Vi) to offer voice-and-SMS-only options for every validity period of 30 days or less for which they already offer bundled plans with calls, SMS and data. These plans must also be priced lower than comparable bundled plans, with an appropriate reduction in tariff.
Operators must also offer at least one voice-and-SMS-only plan that can be renewed on the same date every month. If that date does not exist in a particular month, the plan should be renewable on the last day of that month. In addition, they must provide at least one voice-and-SMS-only voucher with longer validity, corresponding to the longer-validity bundled plans they offer.
TRAI says it introduced the changes after observing that telecom operators offered only a limited number of voice-and-SMS-only Special Tariff Vouchers (STVs), with most of these plans focused on longer validity periods, via PTI. This left low-income consumers with fewer affordable options for shorter durations. To address this, TRAI released the draft Telecom Consumer Protection (Thirteenth Amendment) Regulations, 2026, for public consultation on April 7, 2026.
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