If you have a BSNL prepaid number from the Bihar or Jharkhand telecom circle and mainly want to keep the number active for incoming calls, SMS and OTPs, choosing the right recharge can be surprisingly confusing.
A number of websites still show old BSNL plans such as ₹75, ₹94, ₹321 or ₹365 with long validity, but many of these plans are either discontinued, restricted to special customer groups, or cannot currently be verified as purchasable for a normal Bihar/Jharkhand prepaid number.
This guide focuses on one simple question:
What is the cheapest currently verifiable way to keep a BSNL Bihar/Jharkhand prepaid number active for approximately one year?
This research was checked for October 2026.
Quick Answer
For a normal existing BSNL prepaid number in Bihar/Jharkhand, the cheapest verified strategy found is:
₹1,499 + ₹197 + ₹197
- ₹1,499 → 300 days
- ₹197 → 35 days
- ₹197 → 35 days
Total
₹1,893 for 370 days
This is cheaper than BSNL’s verified one-shot 365-day option:
₹2,399 for 365 days
The multi-recharge method therefore saves:
₹2,399 − ₹1,893 = ₹506
while providing five additional days of validity.
Why This Question Is More Complicated Than It Looks
BSNL has several types of prepaid vouchers:
- Plan Vouchers or PVs
- Special Tariff Vouchers or STVs
- Validity-extension vouchers
- Data-only vouchers
- First Recharge Coupons or FRCs
- Circle-specific plans
- Special institutional or CUG plans
The word “validity” can also be misleading.
A data voucher may say “60 days validity”, but that does not necessarily mean that it keeps your SIM in active service for 60 days.
For number retention, the important factor is:
Service validity — not merely the validity of an add-on benefit.
If your main requirement is receiving calls, SMS and OTPs, your objective should be to keep the BSNL prepaid connection in Active status continuously.
Option 1: Cheapest Single Recharge for One Full Year
The cheapest currently verified single recharge covering approximately one year is:
BSNL PV_2399
Price: ₹2,399
Validity: 365 days
Circle: Currently shown for Jharkhand and Bihar/Jharkhand
Incoming calls: Available while service remains active
Incoming SMS/OTP: Available while service remains active
The plan also includes calling, data and SMS benefits, although those benefits may not be important if the objective is simply number retention.
For someone who wants to recharge once and forget about the SIM for a year, this is the simplest option.
Cost
₹2,399 for 365 days
Average cost:
about ₹6.57 per day
Option 2: Cheapest Verified Strategy — ₹1,893 for 370 Days
If you are willing to perform multiple recharges during the year, there is a cheaper solution.
Step 1 — Recharge ₹1,499
The current PV_1499 provides:
300 days service validity
Step 2 — Recharge ₹197 Near Expiry
The ₹197 voucher currently provides:
35 days validity
Step 3 — Recharge ₹197 Again
Recharge another ₹197 before the second validity period expires:
another 35 days
Calculation
300 + 35 + 35 = 370 days
Cost:
₹1,499 + ₹197 + ₹197 = ₹1,893
That gives approximately one full year of continuous active validity at a significantly lower cost than PV_2399.
₹1,893 vs ₹2,399 — Which Is Better?
| Strategy | Validity | Total Cost |
|---|---|---|
| PV_2399 | 365 days | ₹2,399 |
| PV_1499 + ₹197 + ₹197 | 370 days | ₹1,893 |
| Difference | +5 days | ₹506 saved |
The ₹1,893 strategy is therefore approximately 21% cheaper.
The only disadvantage is that you need to remember to perform two additional recharges later in the year.
Should You Recharge All Three Vouchers at Once?
Preferably, no.
The safer approach is:
- Recharge ₹1,499 now.
- A few days before the 300-day validity expires, recharge ₹197.
- Near the end of the next 35 days, recharge ₹197 again.
This avoids unnecessarily depending on voucher-queue or advance-recharge behaviour.
It also allows you to check the currently available plan before every recharge because BSNL tariffs may change over time.
What Happened to the ₹321 / 365-Day BSNL Plan?
This is one of the biggest sources of confusion.
Some BSNL listings do show a:
₹321 — 365-day plan
However, the currently identified plan is:
PoliceCUG_321
It is intended for Police CUG customers in Tamil Nadu/Chennai.
It is not a normal prepaid validity plan for an ordinary Bihar/Jharkhand BSNL subscriber.
Therefore:
Do not recharge ₹321 expecting 365-day validity on a normal Bihar/Jharkhand BSNL SIM.
The ₹321 plan should not be used as the answer to the “cheapest annual BSNL recharge” question without checking the customer’s circle and eligibility.
What About BSNL ₹365 / PV_365?
This plan is more complicated.
Some third-party recharge websites still show:
PV_365 — ₹365 — 365 days
Historically, this plan included benefits such as calling, data and SMS for a limited initial period while providing longer validity.
However, current verification creates a problem.
The ₹365/PV_365 plan:
- appears on some aggregator websites;
- is absent from current Bihar/Jharkhand purchase-oriented catalogues checked;
- is absent from current Jharkhand BBPS-style listings checked;
- cannot presently be confirmed as a normal purchasable Bihar/Jharkhand voucher through the available evidence.
Therefore its status should be treated as:
Listed but NOT verified as currently purchasable.
If PV_365 appears directly inside BSNL Selfcare or BSNL’s official recharge portal after entering your specific mobile number, then that subscriber-specific BSNL listing would be stronger evidence.
Until then, ₹365 should not be assumed to provide one-year validity merely because an old or third-party tariff page displays it.
What About ₹75 and ₹94?
These are also commonly suggested on old BSNL recharge pages.
Historically, BSNL had low-cost vouchers around these denominations, but the original PV75 and PV94 were withdrawn, and current Bihar/Jharkhand catalogues checked do not establish them as ordinary long-validity options suitable for this requirement.
Therefore:
₹75 — not currently verified for this purpose
₹94 — not currently verified for this purpose
Do not build a one-year recharge strategy based on these old denominations without seeing them directly in BSNL’s current number-specific recharge interface.
Other Current BSNL Validity Plans Seen for Bihar/Jharkhand
Current listings reviewed during the research included several other denominations:
| Recharge | Current Listed Validity |
|---|---|
| ₹99 | 14 days |
| ₹107 | 20 days |
| ₹147 | 24 days |
| ₹197 | 35 days |
| ₹219 | 28 days |
| ₹247 | 30 days |
| ₹299 | 30 days |
| ₹319 | 60 days |
| ₹347 | 50 days |
| ₹439 | 80 days |
| ₹485 | 72 days |
| ₹599 | 70 days |
| ₹897 | 165 days |
| ₹997 | 150 days |
| ₹1,499 | 300 days |
| ₹1,999 | 330 days |
| ₹2,399 | 365 days |
| ₹2,799 | 365 days |
After comparing the combinations identified in the research, none of the currently visible alternatives beat:
₹1,499 + ₹197 + ₹197 = ₹1,893 for 370 days.
Do You Need Calls or Data to Keep the Number Active?
No substantial usage is required merely because the plan includes it.
For number retention, the main requirement is keeping the subscriber’s service validity active.
You can therefore buy a qualifying validity-bearing plan even if you never use most of its:
- mobile data;
- outgoing calls;
- SMS quota.
The critical distinction is between a plan that extends service validity and an add-on whose own benefit merely remains available for a specified period.
A data-only STV should not automatically be treated as a SIM-validity extension.
BSNL GP1 and GP2 Explained
BSNL prepaid connections use grace periods after service validity expires.
These grace periods are useful for understanding number retention, but they should not be treated as a substitute for active validity if you depend on calls and OTPs.
GP1 — Grace Period 1
BSNL’s published conditions state:
GP1 = 7 days
During this period, the connection has already left normal active validity.
For someone who needs reliable incoming calls and OTPs, it is better to recharge before reaching GP1.
GP2 — Grace Period 2
BSNL documentation describes:
GP2 = 165 days
This provides a longer reactivation/number-protection window.
However:
165 days of GP2 does not mean 165 days of guaranteed incoming calls and OTPs.
The account may face service restrictions, and a qualifying recharge is needed to restore normal Active status.
Therefore, GP2 should not be included when calculating a strategy that promises uninterrupted incoming service.
Can You Save Even More by Deliberately Using the Grace Period?
Mathematically, perhaps.
Practically, it conflicts with the requirement.
If the purpose of the SIM is:
- bank OTPs;
- account recovery SMS;
- incoming business calls;
- WhatsApp or service verification;
- receiving important alerts;
then entering grace periods intentionally introduces unnecessary risk.
The safer principle is:
Active service validity = reliable strategy
Grace period = recovery window, not normal operating validity
The ₹1,893 calculation therefore deliberately excludes GP1 and GP2 from the required 365-day active period.
What Happens If the SIM Enters GP2?
BSNL’s published material indicates that customers in GP-II or beyond GP-II may need a qualifying recharge of at least the applicable minimum amount to return to Active status.
The researched documentation references ₹147 as the minimum in the relevant published conditions.
If incoming calls do not resume after recharging from GP2, BSNL documentation also provides the following activation command:
ACT IC
Send it to:
124
This is intended to reactivate incoming calls after the appropriate recharge.
Which Source Should You Trust?
For BSNL prepaid plans, source quality matters enormously.
Use this priority order.
1. BSNL Recharge Portal / BSNL Selfcare
The strongest confirmation is what BSNL shows after entering your actual mobile number.
Because some plans vary by circle, subscriber category and eligibility, this is the final transaction-level check.
2. Current BSNL Tariff Documents
These are particularly useful for:
- GP1;
- GP2;
- validity rules;
- plan conditions;
- withdrawal of older plans.
3. Current BBPS or Recharge Platforms
These are helpful when they explicitly identify the correct telecom circle and allow a recharge transaction.
4. Generic Plan Websites
Use these only as supporting evidence.
A website saying “₹365 = 365 days” does not prove that the voucher is still purchasable today for your specific BSNL number.
The Best Strategy for Number Retention
If your BSNL number is mainly maintained for:
- incoming SMS;
- OTPs;
- occasional incoming calls;
- bank accounts;
- Aadhaar-linked services;
- old account recovery;
- keeping a long-held number;
then buying expensive data-heavy annual plans is not necessarily the cheapest approach.
Based on the current Bihar/Jharkhand plans verified in this research, the better approach is:
Recharge 1
PV_1499 — ₹1,499 — 300 days
Then, near expiry:
Recharge 2
₹197 — 35 days
Then:
Recharge 3
₹197 — 35 days
Final Total
370 days
for:
₹1,893
That is the lowest verified combination found in this comparison.
If You Don’t Want to Remember Multiple Recharges
Choose:
BSNL PV_2399
₹2,399
365 days
You pay ₹506 more, but only need to recharge once.
Final Verdict
For a normal existing BSNL Bihar/Jharkhand prepaid number where the goal is primarily:
- keeping the mobile number active;
- receiving incoming calls;
- receiving SMS and OTPs;
- using little or no mobile data;
- keeping annual expenditure as low as possible;
the best currently verified strategy identified is:
Recharge ₹1,499 with PV_1499 for 300 days, then ₹197 for 35 days, followed by another ₹197 for 35 days.
Total Cost: ₹1,893
Total Active Validity: 370 Days
For users who prefer a single recharge:
PV_2399 — ₹2,399 — 365 days
And regarding the two commonly quoted “cheap annual” plans:
₹321/365 days — not applicable to a normal Bihar/Jharkhand prepaid customer; the identified plan is a Tamil Nadu/Chennai Police CUG plan.
₹365/PV_365 — appears on third-party listings but is NOT currently verified as purchasable for Bihar/Jharkhand.
Before making any payment, enter your BSNL number in BSNL Selfcare or the official BSNL recharge portal and confirm that the selected voucher and service-validity period are displayed for that specific subscriber.
BSNL changes tariffs periodically, so the number-specific official recharge screen should always be treated as the final authority.
Important Note
This guide concerns domestic prepaid service validity and number retention.
If the BSNL SIM is being used outside India and needs to receive OTPs internationally, International Roaming activation and applicable roaming requirements are separate from ordinary domestic prepaid validity.
