Watch: Free Reliance Jio SIMs Sold Illegally For Upto Rs 1,000

The Quint went on a sting operation to see if the Jio 4G SIM cards can be bought illegally.

Reliance Jio board hanging on the store. (Photo: BloombergQuint)

Reliance Jio is in troubled waters even before it has launched. Shopkeepers and consumers are irate with the way Jio 4G distribution has been handled.

Official stores have run out of application forms to collect new SIM cards and illegal vendors are making quick bucks by exploiting eager consumers.

A brand new SIM that can be availed for free from official channels is being sold illegally and profitably for as less as one hundred rupees and as much as 1000 rupees. After multiple people complained about the same on The Quint’s Twitter handle, we decided to take stock of the situation.

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From Savitri Market in Sector 18, Noida to Ashok Nagar, Delhi, from Nehru Place to Gaffar market, dozens of shops admitted that SIM cards are being sold. Most of them had run out of stock and those who had it were selling it for couple of hundred rupees. Here’s what we caught on camera.

As couple of million people already enjoy free 4G data on Jio’s free network so far, thousand more can’t even get their hands on a SIM card, let alone activate the service through a cumbersome process.

The demand for GSM SIM cards has exceeded company’s expectations and there is a major scarcity of new SIM cards all across Delhi NCR. This has given birth to hundreds of illegal vendors and peddlers who are selling these elusive SIMs to hapless consumers.

Video Editor: Mohd Irshad Alam