Home
Telecom
Telecom News
BSNL Reduces Validity of Its Rs. 197 Prepaid Plan; Offers New Benefits

BSNL Reduces Validity of Its Rs. 197 Prepaid Plan; Offers New Benefits

BSNL has reduced the validity of its Rs. 197 prepaid plan by 16 days, and the government-owned company has also revised the benefits of the plans.

Written by Dhruv Raghav, Edited by Siddharth Suvarna | Updated: 22 July 2025 15:59 IST

Photo Credit: BSNL

BSNL's financials have been on an upward trajectory recently

Highlights

BSNL used to earlier offer 70 days of validity with Rs. 197 recharge
BSNL’s plan now offers 300 minutes of voice calling
The TSP used to offer unlimited calling with the plan

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), the government-owned telecom service provider (TSP), has revised the validity and benefits of its Rs. 197 prepaid plan. The company has essentially reduced the validity and benefits of the plan, which used to earlier offer 70 days of plan validity, 15 days of core benefits validity with unlimited voice calling, a quota of 100 SMS messages per day, and 2GB of data per day. The validity of the plan has been reduced to 54 days, with the unlimited voice calling benefit and 100 SMS per day quota being removed.

BSNL's Old Plan, Reduced Validity

According to BSNL's website, the TSP is now letting its subscribers recharge their phone numbers for Rs. 197, which will have the validity of 54 days. The revised prepaid plan will offer users 300 minutes of voice calling, 4GB of total data, and a total of 100 SMS messages quota. After the data quota is exhausted, users will get unlimited data but at 40Kbps speed. This is significantly lower than what the company used to offer earlier.

BSNL will now offer a total of 100 SMS quota for the validity of the plan
Photo Credit: BSNL

BSNL used to offer, with the Rs. 197 prepaid plan, unlimited local and STD voice calling, 2GB per day data quota for 15 days, a quota of 100 SMS messages per day for 15 days, and 15 days access to Zing Music. Moreover, the overall validity of the plan was 70 days, with validity of the core benefits limited to 15 days. Hence, the benefits a subscriber could get with a recharge of Rs. 197 has now been reduced, especially the validity, which has been cut down by 16 days. This plan would have been preferred primarily by subscribers who just wanted to keep their phone numbers active, without seeking many benefits. Now, with the reduced validity, they might have to look for other options.

How to Upgrade to BSNL 4G/ 5G SIM Card Online: A Step-by-Step Guide

The government-owned TSP has also been on an upward trajectory in terms of quarterly profits. In the fourth quarter (Q4) for financial year (FY) 2024-25, BSNL posted a profit after tax of Rs. 280 crore, compared to a loss of Rs. 849 crore in the same quarter in FY 2023-24.

Additionally, in Q4 2024-25, BSNL also spent on building infrastructure by building network towers/equipments etc worth Rs. 15,324 crore and buying spectrum worth Rs. 10,698, primarily focusing on 4G roll-out and fibre.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

Further reading: BSNL, BSNL Rs. 197 recharge plan, BSNL prepaid plan

Dhruv Raghav

Email Dhruv Raghav

Dhruv Raghav is currently working as a Senior Sub Editor at Gadgets360. He has previously covered the North American financial markets as a Headline News Correspondent for a major news agency. After taking a sabbatical to prepare for the Civil Services examination, he returned to journalism to cover tech policy, with a special focus on AI laws and online gaming regulation. Now, he is back in Gadgets360 to write features and edit stories. To unwind, he likes to spend time with his PS5, listening ...More

Crypto Whales Drive $4 Trillion Market Revival After Trump Signs Stablecoin Bill

BSNL Reduces Validity of Its Rs. 197 Prepaid Plan; Offers New Benefits

BSNL's Old Plan, Reduced Validity

Related Stories