In one line
Jio, Airtel and Vi must sell a calls-and-SMS-only pack for every validity of 30 days or less, at a lower price than the matching pack with data. It starts 30 days after the rule is published in the Gazette, and no price is fixed.1
Does this apply to you?
Find yourself in the list.
Your bundled pack is not touched. This rule adds cheaper options, it removes none.1
Today you pay for data you never use. A cheaper short-validity pack should appear once the rule starts.
Look at the operator's pack list after the start date. These packs are meant for people who do not use data.1
Operators must offer a pack that renews on the same date each month. Ask for it once it is listed.1
What the rule actually says
The plain version first, then the line from the primary document.
What to do
- If you use data every day, do nothing.
- If you have a calls-only second SIM, note what you pay now for 28 days. After the start date, open the operator's app and compare it with the new calls-and-SMS-only pack.
- Move the SIM to the new pack only if the saving is real. Check what the pack includes, because it is meant to carry no data.
- If an operator does not show these packs after the start date, raise it with the operator's complaint channel and keep a screenshot.
The fine print
- "Appropriate reduction" is not a number. The April draft said "largely proportional". The final text dropped that, so the gap between the two packs may be small.12
- TRAI says the data component of each pack has to be assessed separately, so one operator can cut a lot on one validity and little on another.1
- Your 28-day pack does not turn into a 30-day pack. The rule covers calls-and-SMS-only packs, and operators keep their existing ones.
- The rule is about packs, not your base plan or what happens when your SIM goes without a recharge.
- TRAI's own notes say these packs were not easy to find in shops and apps. The regulation text adds no new display rule, only the earlier tariff publication directions apply.12
What we don't know yet
- The Gazette publication date, so the exact start date. The TRAI document is dated 21 September 2026 and gives no Gazette date. Some reports say late October. We are not using a calendar date until the Gazette entry is seen.1
- What Jio, Airtel and Vi will charge. No operator had published these packs when we checked.
- How easy the packs will be to find in each operator's app and at recharge counters.
Our take
This is a modest rule that could save real money for people who use a second SIM only for calls. Because TRAI set no formula, the saving depends on each operator's pricing, and the draft's "largely proportional" wording was dropped from the final text. The first prices will show how much it is worth, so judge each pack by what it costs per month against the bundled one you pay for today. Some coverage already says the price must be proportional. The final text does not say that.12