Raghav Chadha Questions 28-Day Recharge Cycle, Calls For Incoming Calls Protection For Prepaid Users

Raghav Chadha, MP from the Aam Aadmi Party, raised concerns in Parliament over telecom practices affecting India’s massive prepaid mobile user base. Highlighting that nearly 90% of the country’s roughly 125 crore mobile subscribers use prepaid connections, Chadha questioned the rule under which both outgoing and incoming calls stop once a recharge plan expires. He argued that a mobile number today functions as a digital identity, essential for banking OTPs, Unified Payments Interface transactions, Aadhaar authentication, job interviews, hospital calls and family communication. Calling the shutdown of incoming services unfair, he proposed that incoming calls and SMS should continue for at least one year after the last recharge, mobile numbers should not be deactivated for at least three years, and telecom operators should introduce a low-cost incoming-only plan for users who keep phones primarily for receiving calls. Chadha also criticised the telecom industry’s 28-day recharge cycle, arguing that it effectively forces consumers to recharge 13 times a year instead of the standard 12 monthly billing cycles followed across most sectors.