OneIndia plan may push up rural India’s phone bill by as much as 50 per cent

Minister of communications Dayanidhi Maran’s much-talked-about OneIndia plan of uniform tariffs across the country may lower call rates for urban India but could push up rural India’s phone bill by as much as 50 per cent. The government intends to retain the current tariff of Rs 1.20 for a three-minute local call across all regions, which would mean a 50 per cent increase in tariffs for rural customers, who at present pay a subsidised tariff of less than Re 1. Even at Re 1, rural India’s cost per call will increase 20 per cent, while urban consumers would be paying 20 per cent less than the existing tariff. As a third of BSNL’s customers are in rural areas, the policy could result in 15 million users paying higher tariffs for local calls.