30-day recharge plans
Prepaid mobile users in India will have more recharge options under the new telecom consumer protection framework.
Telecom operators will be required to offer prepaid plans with 30-day validity. The change provides an alternative to the widely used 28-day recharge cycle.
Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha welcomed the development and said the changes would give consumers greater flexibility. He specifically highlighted users who mainly use their phones for voice calls and SMS.
Under a 28-day validity cycle, customers maintaining uninterrupted service could effectively need to recharge 13 times during a 365-day year.
With a 30-day recharge option, customers can instead follow a 12-recharge annual cycle.
Chadha said he had raised concerns about limited and inflexible prepaid recharge options in Parliament on March 11. He had sought greater choice and more affordable options for consumers.
The changes have been introduced under the Telecom Consumer Protection (Thirteenth Amendment) Regulations, 2026.
The amended framework also provides for Voice and SMS-only Special Tariff Vouchers for customers who do not require mobile data.
Under the new regulations, telecom service providers will have to offer Voice and SMS-only options corresponding to available bundled plans with 30-day and shorter validity periods.
The rules also provide for an option that can be renewed on the same date every month. If that date does not exist in a particular month, the renewal can take place on the last day of that month.
The changes are intended to expand consumer choice by allowing users to select prepaid plans according to their actual usage requirements. Customers with limited or no data needs will have alternatives that focus on basic voice calling and SMS services.
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