Reliance Jio announces Emergency Data Loan facility: Everything you need to know

Reliance Jio Emergency Data Loan: Reliance Jio is changing the rules of the game, as it has now brought in a facility that would let users avail data on loan and pay for it later. The scheme is being called “Emergency Data Loan” by Jio, and it aims to provide prepaid users the facility to avail up to five data loan packs of 1GB each, translating into 5GB of data loan for a subscriber. For this added data, users would be allowed to pay at a later stage, thereby allowing users who have exhausted the allocated data under their pack and are unable to purchase add-on data packs to still access the internet.

The Emergency Data Loan pack includes a data allocation of 1GB and it has been priced at Rs 11. The validity for the pack is attached to the validity of the base plan, and therefore, this additional loaned data can be used as long as the base plan is valid. However, a user does need to have an active prepaid base plan to be able to avail this service.

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The facility can be accessed through the MyJio app on the phone, and once in the app, they would need to go to the menu. In the menu, users would see the mobile tab, under which the Emergency Data Loan is needed. Under the Emergency Data Loan banner, select Proceed, and then select the Get Emergency Data option. Once done with that, users would need to click on Activate Now and the pack would be activated.

The payment for this loan can also be made via the MyJio app.

However, the company has not yet disclosed details regarding the exact time by when the users would be required to pay for the loan.

The move by Jio is important considering the fact that active internet connection has been the lifeline of many aspects of life, including school, during the coronavirus pandemic, and considering the fact that the launch of Jio had made it possible for many low-income families to also avail internet services, the data loan facility is likely to come in handy. The move also has the potential to snowball into an offering by all other players, which would mobilise a data credit system that could benefit lakhs of users in India.