New Delhi, Sept. 22 -- Low-income telecom users will get more affordable and flexible recharge choices for voice calls and SMS, with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) mandating telecom service providers to offer shorter-validity voice-and-SMS-only plans with appropriate tariff reductions.

TRAI, in its Telecom Consumer Protection (Thirteenth Amendment) Regulations, 2026, said the move will give consumers who do not need bundled data more options to recharge according to their requirements and financial capacity.

Under the new framework, telecom service providers will have to offer voice-and-SMS-only STVs with an appropriate reduction in tariff for validity periods corresponding to each validity period of 30 days and less t...