New Delhi, May 28 -- Reliance Jio's payment liability to the department of telecommunications (DoT) stood at Rs.1.04 trillion as of March-end, down 4.2% from a year ago as it cleared earlier instalments, according to Reliance Industries Ltd's FY26 annual report.

The liability remains substantial, primarily due to the company's historically aggressive spectrum acquisition strategy-most notably during the 2022 5G auction, in which it secured radio frequencies worth Rs.88,000 crore.

Reliance Jio is India's largest telecom operator by market share and accounts for most of Jio Platforms' business, which in the process of filing its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) for the initial public offering (IPO).

For the March 2021 auction, the tel...