The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), on September 21, 2026, released the Telecom Consumer Protection (Thirteenth Amendment) Regulations, 2026 to address limited availability of affordable Voice-and-SMS-only Special Tariff Vouchers (STVs), particularly shorter-validity options for low-income consumers. The amendment follows TRAI’s consultation initiated on April 7, 2026, which received 1,132 stakeholder responses, followed by an Open House Discussion on June 15, 2026.
The amendment mandates telecom service providers to offer Voice-and-SMS-only STVs with appropriate tariff reduction corresponding to: (i) each validity period of 30 days and less than 30 days for STVs offering voice, SMS and data; (ii) a validity renewable on the same date every month, with the last day of the month applying where the corresponding date is unavailable; and (iii) at least one STV with a validity period longer than the above options, corresponding to the validity periods of STVs offered for voice, SMS and data.
The amended framework is intended to provide consumers, particularly those who do not require bundled data services, with greater choice of shorter and monthly validity Voice-and-SMS-only recharge options and enable recharges according to their requirements and financial capacity. The amendment has been finalised after consideration of stakeholder responses and TRAI’s analysis and has been placed on the TRAI website.
[Press Release No. 120/2026]
