India, April 17 -- Indian telecom users may face a significant increase in their mobile bills in the coming months. A recent report by Antique Stock Broking predicts an imminent tariff hike of 15-17% across the telecom sector, with the implementation potentially happening after the upcoming general elections scheduled for April-May 2024. Telecom operators in India have been grappling with several financial challenges in recent years. Here are some facts to illustrate the situation:

According to the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), the telecom industry's total debt burden stood at a staggering Rs.14.76 lakh crore (US$ 176 billion) as of March 2023. The Supreme Court's AGR ruling in 2020 further added to this burden, with es...