The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has taken a major step towards expanding recharge options. On Tuesday, TRAI issued the Telecom Consumer Protection (Thirteenth Amendment) Regulations, 2026. Under this, telecom companies will be required to provide short-term Special Tariff Vouchers (STVs) that offer only voice calling and SMS services. TRAI has taken this decision keeping low-income mobile consumers in mind.
According to a statement issued by the Department of Telecommunications, telecom companies will be required to offer STVs for voice and SMS with a validity of 30 days or less. This means that customers who primarily need calling and SMS will not be forced to purchase expensive long-term plans. Additionally, companies will also be required to provide STVs that consumers can renew on the same date each month. If that date is not available in any month, renewal can be done on the last date of that month.
TRAI states that this change will provide more options to consumers who do not use data or whose data needs are very limited. In particular, low-income customers will be able to choose a shorter recharge option based on their needs and financial capacity. Under the new rules, telecom companies will also be required to provide at least one long-term STV, commensurate with the validity of a voice, SMS, and data STV.
TRAI stated that after the implementation of the 12th Amendment to the Telecom Consumer Protection Regulations, 2024, it reviewed voice-and-SMS-only STVs available in the market. It found that the number of such recharges was limited, and most of them had long validity. This limited the options for consumers who did not need data to choose affordable voice and SMS recharges for a short period.
TRAI released the draft TCPR, 2026 on its website on April 7, 2026, seeking suggestions and comments from stakeholders regarding this amendment. Based on the feedback received and its analysis, the Authority has now finalized the 13th amendment.