Jio under fire for allegedly hiding budget recharge plans to exploit customers

TRAI sets deadline for corrective action

New Delhi — The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has described certain existing recharge practices of Reliance Jio as “opaque” and “discriminatory.” According to the regulator, the company is not making all recharge options equally accessible to all customers. This results in limited choices and often creates confusion among users.

Reality of the hidden plans

In 2025, Jio removed some of its most affordable 1 GB per day data plans from its primary platforms. At the time, the company stated that these plans would remain available only through retail outlets. However, TRAI’s detailed investigation revealed otherwise.

The probe found that plans priced at ₹199 and ₹249 were restricted exclusively to offline stores, while a popular ₹209 plan was available only via the MyJio app. Additionally, certain special plans were reserved solely for users of JioPhone and JioBharat devices.

TRAI sets deadline

The regulator has made it clear that discrimination in telecom services is unacceptable. According to TRAI, every customer has the right to view all available plans offered by a service provider and to choose freely, regardless of the platform they use.

In this context, a final deadline has been set for Jio to comply; 14 April 2026. Within this period, Jio must make all its plans uniformly available to the public across every platform – its website, mobile app, customer service, and retail outlets.

Editorial Perspective

Across India, people are increasingly noticing alleged exploitation by telecom service providers. This has raised serious questions about why the government seems to be turning a blind eye to the issue.