Airtel Silently Discontinues Six Popular Recharge Plans: ₹299, ₹319, ₹579, ₹619, ₹649, and ₹799 Axed

Indian telecom users are once again facing the brunt of indirect price hikes. Without releasing any formal press announcements, Bharti Airtel has quietly executed a massive overhaul of its prepaid recharge portfolio. The telecom giant has abruptly discontinued a large chunk of its most popular, budget-friendly daily-data and mid-term validity plans across India.

For millions of subscribers, this means the entry barrier to keep a daily internet connection active has been significantly raised. Here is a comprehensive PFD breakdown of exactly which plans have been axed, which have seen a price bump, and what your new options look like.

Purge of Affordable Daily Data Plans

Airtel users attempting to recharge their numbers through the official Airtel Thanks app or third-party platforms are being met with “Plan Not Available” warnings across several familiar price points.

• ₹299 and ₹319 Plans Axed: The highly popular ₹299 prepaid plan is no longer part of the current plan lineup. When searching for the ₹299 or the monthly ₹319 plan, the app now explicitly states “Plan discontinued by Airtel! Please Recharge with Rs. 349 or Rs. 399”.

• Mid-Tier Validities Removed: The ₹579 and ₹619 prepaid plans have been removed in select circles. Users attempting to search for the 56-day ₹579 plan or the ₹649 plan are being prompted to upgrade to the heavily inflated ₹838 option instead.

• ₹799 Plan Discontinued: The ₹799 recharge option has also been removed, directing users to recharge with ₹899.

Stealth Price Hikes and the New ₹349 Minimum

Airtel has revamped its prepaid portfolio, removing several 1GB and 1.5GB daily data plans. By eliminating these lower-tier data caps, Airtel is forcing consumers to pay for higher-capacity plans regardless of their actual usage needs.

• New ₹349 Base Tier: Airtel has effectively made the ₹349 plan the absolute entry-level option for unlimited prepaid users. The Rs 349 recharge has become the cheapest unlimited prepaid plan available. This ₹349 plan offers 2GB of daily data alongside Unlimited 5G access.

• ₹859 Hiked to ₹899: The ₹859 plan has also been officially replaced by the ₹899 plan. While the price has increased, users have noted that the overall benefits and bonus subscriptions feel severely watered down.

Airtel Price Hike Comparison Matrix

To clearly illustrate how Airtel has silently increased the minimum spending requirements, here is a comparison table outlining the discontinued plans and their new, more expensive forced alternatives.

Will Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea (Vi) Follow?

The Indian telecom industry operates almost exclusively on synchronized tariff adjustments. Whenever a dominant player like Bharti Airtel normalizes a higher Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) base, competitors inevitably follow suit. Analysts expect Reliance Jio and the cash-strapped Vodafone Idea (Vi) to begin quietly trimming their own entry-level portfolios – specifically their ₹299 and mid-range 56-day validities – within the coming weeks to match Airtel’s new pricing floor.

PFD Context:

Airtel’s strategy here is a textbook “stealth hike.” By completely erasing the ₹299 and ₹579 tiers and forcing users to jump straight to ₹349 or ₹838, they are masking a brutal price increase as a “portfolio revamp.” This strategy is especially frustrating given the widespread consumer complaints regarding inconsistent network coverage and dropped calls; paying significantly more for services that aren’t consistently up to the mark feels anti-consumer.

Furthermore, while Airtel heavily advertises “Unlimited 5G,” pushing 4G-only users – who cannot even utilize 5G networks – into these expensive 2GB/day tiers is a highly aggressive tactic to extract higher ARPU from budget-conscious subscribers. If you rely on Airtel, your telecom bills have officially gone up.

Tags: Airtel discontinued plans, Airtel ₹299 plan removed, Airtel ₹349 cheapest plan, Airtel ₹899 price hike, telecom news India 2026, recharge price hike