Reliance Jio has quietly discontinued its most affordable prepaid plans—₹209 for 22 days and ₹249 for 28 days—which offered 1GB of data per day. As per industry sources, the next available online plan is now ₹299, offering 1.5GB per day for 28 days. According to NDTV Profit, while these lower-tier plans are no longer available for online recharge, they may still be available at select offline retail outlets.
With this change, Jio’s entry-level online plan now aligns with Airtel and Vodafone Idea, both of which start at ₹299 for 28 days but only offer 1GB daily. Jio now holds a slight edge by offering 1.5GB per day. This adjustment effectively raises the industry’s base prepaid tariff to ₹299.
Analysts suggest this move is a precursor to another round of tariff hikes expected between October 2025 and January 2026. These are projected to be smaller than the 19–21% hikes of 2024, likely capped at 15–20%. The increase is driven by the need to boost revenue amid heavy 5G investments and rising spectrum costs, aiming to raise ARPU from ₹200 to ₹220 in FY26.
