The Indian telecom sector has presented a comprehensive wishlist to the Finance Minister for the upcoming Union Budget 2026-27, primarily through its apex industry body, the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI). Major telecom players like Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio, and Vodafone Idea are key members of COAI, whose recommendations aim to alleviate financial stress and foster further investment in next-generation connectivity to align with the 'Viksit Bharat' vision. A central demand is a substantial reduction in regulatory levies, specifically the license fee. COAI has urged the government to lower the license fee from the current 3% of Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) to a range of 0.5-1%, arguing that this would be sufficient to cover administrative costs and ease the significant financial burden on operators. Additionally, the industry has requested a pause on contributions to the Digital Bharat Nidhi (formerly Universal Service Obligation Fund) until the existing unutilized corpus is fully deployed by the Department of Telecommunications. GST-related issues form another critical component of the wishlist. COAI has highlighted concerns over the growing accumulation of Input Tax Credit (ITC) within the sector. To address this, they have proposed either a special GST exemption on regulatory payments such as license fees, spectrum usage charges (SUC), and spectrum acquired through auctions, or, as an alternative, reducing the GST rate under the Reverse Charge Mechanism (RCM) on these payments from 18% to 5%. The association asserts that this reduction would be revenue-neutral for the government while providing much-needed liquidity relief to telecom operators and helping mitigate ITC pile-up. Furthermore, COAI has recommended allowing telecom companies to utilize their existing ITC balances to discharge GST liabilities under RCM for license fees and SUC, which would protect cash outflows and effectively use accumulated credits. The industry body also emphasizes that telecom is no longer merely a vertical but a "horizontal value-added enabler" across all other sectors, thus calling for a recalibration of spectrum pricing and assignment models to reflect its strategic importance in India's digital economy. While these are the industry's direct expectations from the budget, analysts also foresee a potential 15% increase in mobile tariffs by June 2026, which is expected to boost sector revenue growth. Credible sources such as Times of India, CNBC TV18, Tribune India, Hindustan Times, Zee News, Communications Today, Observer Voice, Menafn, TimesTech, Whalesbook, and Mint corroborate these demands, indicating a widespread consensus within the sector. The Upstox headline accurately reflects these expectations without exaggeration.