Only calls and SMS plans of telecom companies including Airtel, Reliance Jio will be scrutinized.

Telecom companies have launched tariff plans only for calls and SMS. These plans have been made available to comply with the rules of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). TRAI has said that reports on these tariff plans will have to be submitted within seven days of their launch.

These tariff plans have been launched following a directive from TRAI late last year. TRAI had given a deadline of one month to the telecom companies to present these plans. These prepaid tariff plans are for those customers who do not need data. Bharti Airtel has launched a new plan of Rs 499. It will get validity of 84 days with unlimited calls and 900 SMS. Apart from this, the company has introduced a plan of Rs 1,959. In this, unlimited voice calls and Rs 3,600 will be available with validity of 365 days. Reliance Jio has launched a plan of Rs 458. It will have a validity of 84 days with unlimited voice calls and 1,000 SMS. Apart from this, the company has also provided a plan of Rs 1,958. It will have a validity of 365 days with unlimited voice calls and 3,600 SMS.

Vodafone Idea, which has been facing financial difficulties for the last few years, will have a validity of 270 days with unlimited calls and 100 SMS in the Rs 1,460 plan. “The service provider shall offer a minimum of one special tariff voucher for voice calls and SMS, the period of validity of which shall not exceed 365 days,” TRAI had said in the amended Telecom Consumers Protection Regulations. This will benefit those users who do not use data. Along with this, TRAI has also allowed telecom companies to provide recharge vouchers of any value. However, these companies will have to issue a recharge coupon of at least Rs 10.

The telecom regulator has also taken some measures to deal with the problem of spam calls and messages. TRAI had also imposed fine on big telecom companies for failing to curb this problem. Even before this, fines have been imposed on these companies under the Telecom Commercial Communication Customer Preference Regulations (TCCCPR).