Some addictions start with freebies: first puff, first peg, first gigabyte. Back in 2016, Jio provided us with a bottomless buffet of cheap data, and we almost overnight transitioned from ‘digital have-nots’ to a nation of ‘digital junkies’. Fast-forward to 2025, and the rehabilitation bill for our addiction has been served: ₹299 for 1.5 GB a day. Airtel grins, Vi gasps for breath, and India’s favourite drug for the masses- the data goes slightly premium.
Let’s not pretend this is about better service. The buffering would continue. This is about a top-line repair dressed up as a “tariff correction.” Or, in FMCG language, the same old bar of soap with “new premium packaging.”
Laziness, Now at a Cost
Cheap data rewired India. We no longer strain the brain for directions, spellings, or even recipes. Why remember anything when Google sits on speed dial? The brain’s memory device is gathering dust, while our thumbs are training for the Olympics.
Thinking became optional; searching became instinct.
Perhaps, in a twisted CSR move, Jio is forcing us to slow down.
‘Scroll less, think more.’ Except addicts don’t quit when prices rise, they just readjust their budget heads.
Snacks Down, Scrolls Up.
Here’s the behavioural truth I can bet on: Indians will cut samosas before they cut scrolls. A skipped pakora or one less Vada pao funds the daily reel binge.
Data is oxygen, snacks are side dishes. And when something becomes oxygen, price hikes don’t kill demand; they make it aspirational.
Already, recharges are turning into lifestyle statements. “Yes, I’m on the ₹349 plan. Premium scrolling. Ad-free status anxiety.” The price tag itself becomes the flex in the new defined Maslow hierarchy.
Premiumisation, the Old Trick
Marketers in every sector are guilty of it. A nut in chocolate makes it “luxury.” A shampoo bottle with a flip-top cap becomes “salon grade.” Telcos now join the party: same bytes, higher price, but suddenly positioned as value. Premiumisation is just capitalism’s way of telling you: “Congratulations, you’re paying more for the same thing, so you must have arrived.”
The Real Plot
And of course, there’s the IPO drumroll. Jio Platforms wants a $100 billion listing, Airtel is already flexing market cap, and Vi… well, let’s skip the obituary. For investors, price hikes are music. For users, they’re reality checks. For telcos, they’re the easiest way to turn our scrolling habits into predictable ARPU charts.
Back in 2016, Jio’s nearly free internet seemed like digital socialism.
In 2025, the mask is off: it was just the world’s most generous free sample. And like all free samples, it was designed to hook you before the actual bill arrived.
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So yes, Jio may well be doing us a “favour.” Not by improving our brains, but by preimmunising our addiction. From now on, you don’t just scroll—you scroll with pride. You don’t just binge—you binge with a sense of having ‘invested’ and ‘arrived.’
Because in today’s India, progress isn’t measured by what you eat, wear, or drive. It’s measured by whether you can afford to doomscroll cat videos at 2 AM, without calculating how many samosas you sacrificed this week. In fact, make it a habit. The data is going to eat up more and more of your wallet with your secondary addictions – the OTTs, games, and reality shows – and ad-free streaming will also cost you more. And we are yet to be introduced to the menthol click of the stick in data usage.
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