Lockdown, potato chips and a lifeline for India's ailing telecom firms

The bundling of something as outlandish as a packet of potato chips with data may have saved the day for key players in this space

Freebies aren't new to us. You send money by UPI, and you get a cash-back. ‘Buy-one-get-one’ has virtually been offered on every known consumer product. And whether one gorges on potato chips, or watches television these days, it is hard to miss this offer: a Rs 20 packet of Lays that fills your phone with “2 GB free data.” 

Bizarre though it may sound—data with chips, indeed!—its an indication that India’s telecom companies are having a good time, or a breather at least. When the country's gross domestic product tanked 24 per cent in one of the strictest lockdowns in