Airtel has discontinued its Rs. 249 prepaid recharge plan in India, making the Rs. 299 plan its new entry-level option. The now-discontinued plan previously offered 1GB of data per day, unlimited local, STD, and roaming calls, 100 SMS per day, and a 24-day validity period. It also included additional benefits such as live spam alerts, Airtel Xstream subscription, 30-day HelloTunes, and a 12-month Perplexity Pro subscription.
With the withdrawal of this plan, users will now have to opt for the Rs. 299 prepaid pack, which provides the same benefits for a longer validity of 28 days. This adjustment effectively raises the minimum monthly recharge cost for Airtel prepaid users.
The move comes soon after Reliance Jio adopted a similar strategy by discontinuing its own Rs. 249 plan and shifting its base pack to Rs. 299. Vodafone Idea, however, continues to offer the Rs. 249 plan for the time being.
This is in line with earlier reportage that predicted the increase in prices of recharge packs by telecom giants in the later half of 2025. Market response to Airtel’s decision was positive, with the company’s shares rising by around 2 percent.
Industry analysts believe the withdrawal of low-cost plans is aimed at pushing customers toward higher-value recharges, thereby boosting average revenue per user (ARPU). Research firms estimate that this could increase Airtel’s ARPU by Rs. 10–11 per subscriber and strengthen profitability in the wireless segment. Jefferies has projected a four to eight percent ARPU growth from this move without significant revenue loss.
