The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has notified the Telecom Consumer Protection (Thirteenth Amendment) Regulations, 2026, introducing more flexibility in prepaid recharge options for consumers who mainly use their mobile connections for voice calls and SMS.
The amendment focuses on increasing the availability of Voice-and-SMS-only Special Tariff Vouchers (STVs), particularly for users who do not need mobile data as part of their recharge plans.
Why TRAI changed the recharge framework
TRAI said it reviewed the availability of Voice-and-SMS-only STVs after the Telecom Consumer Protection (Twelfth Amendment), 2024 came into effect.
According to the regulator, telecom providers were offering only a limited number of such plans, with many of them concentrated around longer validity periods. This meant consumers, particularly those seeking lower-cost shorter-term recharges, had fewer choices.
TRAI subsequently issued the draft Thirteenth Amendment regulations for consultation on April 7, 2026.
After reviewing the feedback received from stakeholders and conducting its own assessment, the regulator finalised the amended regulations.
What the new TRAI rules provide
Under the revised framework, telecom service providers are required to offer Voice-and-SMS-only STVs with appropriate tariff reductions corresponding to different validity periods.
The provisions include Voice-and-SMS-only options corresponding to every validity period of 30 days and less than 30 days for STVs offered for voice, SMS and data.
The rules also cover STVs that can be renewed on the same date each month. If that date does not occur in a particular month, the renewal will take place on the last day of that month.
In addition, telecom providers must offer at least one Voice-and-SMS-only STV with a validity period longer than the above durations, corresponding to the validity period of the voice, SMS and data STVs being offered.
TRAI said it received 1,132 responses from stakeholders during the consultation process. An Open House Discussion on the consultation paper was also conducted on June 15, 2026.
What the changes mean for consumers
The amended tariff structure is intended to give consumers more recharge choices based on their individual usage requirements and financial capacity.
The regulator said the changes will particularly benefit users who primarily require voice and SMS services and do not want to pay for bundled data services.
The Telecom Consumer Protection (Thirteenth Amendment) Regulations, 2026 have been made available on TRAI’s website.
TRAI also strengthens action against spam calls
Alongside the recharge-related changes, TRAI has been strengthening its rules governing unsolicited commercial communications (UCC).
Earlier provisions introduced by the regulator cover Application-to-Person (A2P) calls, automated and pre-recorded voice calls, as well as the use of AI/ML systems to identify suspected spam senders.
Under the amended framework, entities making A2P calls are required to pre-declare these calls to their telecom service providers and provide the Customer Line Identifiers (CLIs) that will be used.
TRAI has also established graded action against suspected UCC senders. Depending on the circumstances, this can include KYC re-verification, physical verification and, in cases involving repeated violations, disconnection of telecom resources.
The threshold for initiating action based on complaints has also been reduced from five to three unique complaints within 10 days, provided that the relevant CLI is simultaneously flagged by the telecom provider’s AI/ML system as suspected UCC.
At the same time, TRAI has introduced safeguards for legitimate business and government communications made through designated numbering series, including 140xx, 1600xx and 1601xx. These measures are intended to reduce the possibility of genuine calls being incorrectly classified as spam.
