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Informist, Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025

 

NEW DELHI – With telecom companies poised to hike tariffs again, Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Wednesday that it is up to the industry to decide if another round of price hikes is necessary for the sustainability of their operations. "It is a deregulated sector, and that (tariffs) is going to be the choice of the industry. I do believe that the economies of scale argument has worked hugely in favour of India, in favour of our consumers, in favour of our telcos," Scindia told reporters on the sidelines of the India Mobile Congress 2025 here.

 

Telecom companies such as Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. and Bharti Airtel Ltd. are reportedly planning to raise tariffs in the coming months as they seek to raise the average revenue per user. In August, Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel hiked prices of their entry-level data plans, with debt-laden Vodafone Idea Ltd. expected to follow suit. 

 

"In India today, the lowest data rate is at INR 9 per gigabyte compared to INR 287 average in the world," Scindia said. "So India is operating at less than 5% of international data costs. India, through this capability, should become and will become the data capital of the world," Scindia said.

 

Telecom companies have been calling for higher tariffs on subscription packages in an effort to increase revenue. Bharti Airtel's Vice Chairman and Managing Director Gopal Vittal had earlier said that the company sees an opportunity to hike tariffs. "It is just that unfortunate situation where people who can afford to pay, the rich, are paying less and we do not need to charge the poor anymore. So, I think that is a real issue on the tariff side," Vittal had told analysts in a post-earnings conference call in August. 

 

Vodafone Idea, which is struggling to keep up with the growth of Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel, has flagged the immediate need to hike tariffs. "In a normal situation, a 12-month period is ideal to, kind of, make any changes in tariffs. But given where the industry is today, a faster tariff change is probably a possibility and the need of the hour," the company's Chief Executive Officer Akshaya Moondra told analysts earlier this year.

 

INDIA'S 6G PLAY

Unlike with the fourth and fifth generation of data networks, India wants to be ahead of the world for the next iteration of the technology, Scindia said during the event. "We were behind the world on 4G, we walked with the world on 5G, but India shall lead the world on 6G," Scindia said.

 

India aims to build efficiencies to provide a minimum of 10% of patents for 6G. Scindia stated that under the production-linked incentive scheme, the telecom manufacturing sector has seen significant growth. This has led to INR 910 billion worth of new production, over INR 170 billion in exports, and the creation of around 29,000 new jobs, Scindia added.  End

 

Reported by Anand JC and Shakshi Jain

Edited by Saji George Titus

 

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