TRAI releases Telecom Consumer Protection (Thirteenth Amendment) Regulations, 2026

 22 September 2026: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) today released the Telecom Consumer Protection (Thirteenth Amendment) Regulation, 2026.

TRAI had released the draft Telecom Consumer Protection (Thirteenth Amendment) Regulations (TCPR), 2026 for consultation on its website on 07.04.2026. Since the implementation of TCPR (Twelfth Amendment), 2024, the Authority observed the limitation in the availability of Voice-and-SMS-only Special Tariff Vouchers (STVs)  being offered by telecom service providers, where only a limited number of such STVs, concentrated on longer validities were being offered and making low-income consumers deprived of affordable shorter duration choices. In order to address this concern, the draft TCPR (Thirteenth Amendment) consultation was issued.

In response to the draft Amendment, a total of 1132 responses were received from stakeholders. An Open House Discussion (OHD) on the consultation paper was also held on 15.06.2026.

Based on the responses received from the stakeholders and on its own analysis, TRAI has finalised the Telecom Consumer Protection (Thirteenth Amendment) Regulation, 2026.

The salient feature of this amendment is to mandate STVs with appropriate reduction in tariff, exclusively for Voice and SMS for:

1. validities corresponding to each validity period of thirty days and less than thirty days for STV being offered for Voice, SMS and data and;
2. validity renewable on the same date of every month and if the date of such renewal is not available in a month, the date of renewal shall be the last date of that month and;
3. at least one STV with validity more than (i) and (ii) above, corresponding to the validity period of STVs being offered for Voice, SMS and data.

The Authority is of the view that such a tariff framework would sufficiently address consumer requirements. This amended regulation will provide low-income consumers with more options, allowing them to recharge according to their requirements and financial capacity. Overall, it will improve choices for consumers preferring not to use STVs bundled with data.

PIB