Airtel extends prepaid validity for subscribers until April 17

New Delhi headquartered telecom major Bharti Airtel has extended the validity of prepaid packs for its customers until April 17, 2020. The move is expected to help low-income users to remain connected during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Prepaid packs of almost 80 million customers will remain active and will continue to receive incoming calls even after the validity is over, a statement said. 

Additionally, Airtel will also credit an additional talk time worth Rs 10 in all the prepaid accounts. The scheme will be made effective in the next 48 hours.

“These special measures will particularly benefit migrant workers and daily wage earners who may have been impacted due to the nationwide lockdown to combat Covid-19,” the company said. 

Airtel, the second-largest telecom player in the country by subscriber base, currently has 327.3 million subscribers, according to telecom regulatory authority of India (TRAI) data.  

More on: Coronavirus India LIVE Updates

Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently announced a nationwide lockdown for 21 days in an effort to reduce the spread of the pandemic in the country. Covid-19 or Corona Virus Disease-2019 has so far infected 1,251 individuals in India and has claimed 32 lives.

The lockdown has triggered an exodus of migrant workers from cities like Delhi and Mumbai. States such as Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh have begun bus services to transport people to their hometowns. 

“In this difficult hour of fighting off the threat of Covid-19, Airtel is committed to ensuring that all people remain connected without any disruptions. And for this objective, it is critical to take care of the under-privileged daily wage earners of our country, whose lives have been disrupted due to the lock-down,” Shashwat Sharma CMO of Airtel said. 

As part of the centre’s efforts to fight the pandemic, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman recently announced a Rs 1,70,000 crore relief package for people from the economically weaker section.