New Delhi: Reliance Jio’s payment liability to the department of telecommunications (DoT) stood at ₹1.04 trillion as of March-end, down 4.2% from a year ago as it cleared earlier instalments, according to Reliance Industries Ltd’s FY26 annual report.
The liability remains substantial, primarily due to the company’s historically aggressive spectrum acquisition strategy—most notably during the 2022 5G auction, in which it secured radio frequencies worth ₹88,000 crore.
is India’s largest telecom operator by market share and accounts for most of Jio Platforms’ business, which in the process of filing its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) for the initial public offering (IPO).
For the March 2021 auction, the operator has a deferred payment liability of ₹30,213 crore, which is payable in 13 equal annual instalments along with interest of 7.30% per annum. For 2022 5G auction, Jio has a deferred payment liability of ₹73,425 crore, which is payable in 16 equal annual instalments.
The deferred payment liability related to spectrum acquired in July 2024 auction is at ₹876 crore, payable in 18 equal annual instalments, commencing from August 2026, the company said.
To be sure, DoT did not conduct any spectrum auctions in FY26, missing the annual schedule approved by the Union cabinet in the 2021 telecom reforms, which had stated that auctions would be held in the last quarter of every financial year.
In February, the telecom regulator cleared the way for the next spectrum auction by putting airwaves worth over ₹2 trillion on the block, while recommending steep cuts in reserve prices to improve participation from cash-strained operators. The same is under consideration by the DoT.
“As Jio evolves into a global technology leader, we are taking deliberate steps to strengthen its institutional framework, enhance transparency, and prepare it for the opportunities ahead,” chairman and managing director Mukesh Ambani said in its annual report.
As of March-end, the value of spectrum of Reliance Jio was at ₹1.88 trillion compared with ₹1.47 trillion in the year-ago period.
Jio had 524 million users as of March-end. Of them, the country’s largest telecom operator has over 268 million 5G users. The company has been focusing on creating intellectual property pertaining to next-generation digital technologies, particularly 5G and 6G.
As of March-end, Jio Platforms and its subsidiaries have cumulatively filed 6,817 patents. Of these, 2,393 were filed in India, and 4,424 have been filed in foreign jurisdictions. Of the total filings, 1,009 patents have been granted globally, comprising 538 grants in India and 471 across foreign jurisdictions, according to the annual report. In FY26, Jio filed approximately 3,476 new patents.
In April, Jio Platforms appointed Akash Ambani as its managing director for five years. The remuneration of Akash Ambani rose to ₹2.55 crore in FY26 from 2.31 crore in FY25.
For FY26, the company reported 14.7% increase in revenue from operations to ₹1.72 trillion . Its net profit for the full year was at ₹30,053 crore, a growth of 15%. Ebitda for the full year rose 19% to ₹76,255 crore, which the company attributed to traction in mobility, home broadband and enterprise services.
The telecom operator reiterated that it was also looking to export its indigenously developed technologies. “After large-scale development of 5G and FWA stack in India, Jio, as a managed services provider, would provide its proprietary network technologies in select international markets in partnership with local operators,” the company said in the annual report.
As of March-end, Jio had 74,822 employees, down from 94,523 in the year-ago period.