Jio Platforms Limited shows Rs 1 lakh crore spectrum shift

Jio Platforms Limited’s schedules show a Rs 1,20,990.6 crore fall in spectrum under development between 31 March 2024 and 31 March 2026, while recognised spectrum’s net carrying value rose Rs 1,18,268.3 crore to Rs 1,88,120.3 crore. The matching direction indicates a substantial spectrum asset shift into recognised intangible assets, although the disclosures do not reconcile every transfer.

Did Jio Platforms shift Rs 1 lakh crore of spectrum into recognised assets?

Jio Platforms reduced spectrum under development by Rs 1,20,990.6 crore over the two financial years ended 31 March 2026. The balance declined from Rs 1,29,602 crore at 31 March 2024 to Rs 54,176.3 crore at 31 March 2025 and Rs 8,611.4 crore at 31 March 2026. Spectrum under development is reported as projects in progress, while recognised spectrum appears within intangible assets and is amortised over its remaining validity period.

Jio Platforms’ net carrying value of recognised spectrum rose from Rs 69,852 crore at 31 March 2024 to Rs 1,47,122 crore at 31 March 2025 and Rs 1,88,120.3 crore at 31 March 2026. The Rs 1,18,268.3 crore two-year increase broadly tracked the fall in development spectrum, but the two movements are not a direct transfer reconciliation. Gross spectrum additions, deductions and amortisation also change the recognised asset balance.

The 30 June 2026 figures show the development balance remained near the 31 March 2026 level, rising Rs 104.6 crore to Rs 8,716 crore. Recognised spectrum fell Rs 2,103.4 crore over the same three months, from Rs 1,88,120.3 crore to Rs 1,86,016.9 crore. That decline matches the Rs 2,103.4 crore spectrum amortisation recorded for the three months ended 30 June 2026, while the disclosure reports no gross spectrum additions in that period.

What drove the change in Jio Platforms’ spectrum asset balances?

Jio Platforms’ recognised spectrum base grew through both additions and the reduction of assets still under development. Gross spectrum carrying value increased from Rs 93,162.8 crore at 31 March 2024 to Rs 1,72,480.5 crore at 31 March 2025 and Rs 2,20,957.9 crore at 31 March 2026. The schedule records gross spectrum additions of Rs 83,244.1 crore in the year ended 31 March 2025 and Rs 48,477.4 crore in the following year.

The largest reduction in development spectrum occurred in the year ended 31 March 2025, when the balance fell Rs 75,425.7 crore. Recognised spectrum increased Rs 77,270 crore in that year, from Rs 69,852 crore to Rs 1,47,122 crore. In the year ended 31 March 2026, development spectrum declined another Rs 45,564.9 crore while recognised spectrum rose Rs 40,998.3 crore, reflecting a period in which additions and amortisation also affected the closing values.

Jio Platforms recorded a Rs 3,926.4 crore deduction or adjustment to gross spectrum and accumulated amortisation in the year ended 31 March 2025. No spectrum deduction or adjustment was reported in the year ended 31 March 2026. These accounting entries explain why the reported development-spectrum reduction and the recognised-spectrum increase are close but not identical, and why the schedules support an asset-classification conclusion rather than a project-by-project transfer total.

How much spectrum under development remains at Jio Platforms?

Jio Platforms had Rs 8,716 crore of spectrum under development at 30 June 2026, of which Rs 7,413.9 crore, or about 85%, had been in progress for more than three years. The balance included Rs 422.4 crore aged below one year, Rs 433.1 crore aged one to two years and Rs 446.6 crore aged two to three years. The ageing schedule listed no spectrum projects as temporarily suspended.

The age composition changed substantially from 30 June 2025, when spectrum under development totalled Rs 54,891 crore and Rs 49,054.8 crore was in the two-to-three-years category. By 30 June 2026, the total was Rs 46,175 crore lower year on year, while the more-than-three-years category had become the largest residual component. The schedule does not state why the Rs 7,413.9 crore long-aged balance remains under development or give expected completion dates.

Jio Platforms also reported Rs 7,303 crore of other intangible assets under development at 30 June 2026, down from Rs 18,214.6 crore at 30 June 2025. Of the latest balance, Rs 3,341.4 crore had been in progress for more than three years. The company stated that it had no capital work-in-progress or other intangible-assets-under-development project whose completion was overdue or whose cost exceeded its original plan at 30 June 2026.

What does recognised spectrum mean for Jio Platforms’ amortisation charge?

Jio Platforms amortises spectrum cost over its balance validity period according to the expected pattern in which future economic benefits are consumed. Spectrum amortisation increased from Rs 5,487.3 crore in the year ended 31 March 2024 to Rs 5,974 crore in the year ended 31 March 2025 and Rs 7,479.1 crore in the year ended 31 March 2026. A larger recognised spectrum asset base therefore expanded the amount exposed to periodic amortisation.

Accumulated spectrum amortisation rose from Rs 23,310.8 crore at 31 March 2024 to Rs 32,837.6 crore at 31 March 2026, then to Rs 34,941 crore at 30 June 2026. The gross spectrum cost of Rs 2,20,957.9 crore at 30 June 2026 less that accumulated amortisation produced the Rs 1,86,016.9 crore net carrying value. The remaining amortisation period for spectrum and licence fees ranged from four to 18 years at 30 June 2026, compared with five to 19 years a year earlier.

Total depreciation and amortisation was Rs 27,597.5 crore in the year ended 31 March 2026, compared with Rs 24,153.7 crore in the preceding year. Spectrum amortisation accounted for Rs 7,479.1 crore of the 2026 total, while depreciation on owned property, plant and equipment was Rs 12,493.9 crore. The spectrum charge will continue to depend on the recognised cost, remaining validity periods and Jio Platforms’ expected economic-benefit consumption pattern.

How did spectrum deployment compare with Jio Platforms’ wider network build?

Jio Platforms’ capital work-in-progress, or CWIP, declined alongside spectrum under development. CWIP is spending on tangible projects not yet capitalised into property, plant and equipment. Its carrying value fell from Rs 81,176.8 crore at 31 March 2024 to Rs 60,328.7 crore at 31 March 2025 and Rs 14,467.3 crore at 31 March 2026, before reaching Rs 15,454.4 crore at 30 June 2026.

At 30 June 2026, Rs 10,240.8 crore of CWIP was less than one year old and Rs 1,834.4 crore had been in progress for more than three years. No CWIP projects were classified as temporarily suspended. Capital goods inventory of Rs 9,048.5 crore and project development expenditure of Rs 4,417.3 crore were included in CWIP and other intangible assets under development at that date.

Net carrying value of total property, plant and equipment, including owned and right-of-use assets, increased from Rs 1,48,873.8 crore at 31 March 2024 to Rs 2,50,991.6 crore at 31 March 2026. Plant and machinery represented Rs 2,47,349.1 crore of the Rs 2,50,942.6 crore total at 30 June 2026. The wider comparison shows that the contraction in assets under development occurred alongside a larger recognised network-asset base, rather than a broad reduction in reported asset investment.

Conclusion

Jio Platforms’ asset schedules show a substantial shift in spectrum accounting between March 2024 and March 2026: spectrum under development declined Rs 1,20,990.6 crore while recognised spectrum rose Rs 1,18,268.3 crore. Gross spectrum additions of Rs 1,31,721.5 crore across the two years and rising amortisation mean the reported movements cannot establish a one-for-one transfer, but they document the scale of the change in the asset mix.

The unresolved item to watch is the Rs 8,716 crore development balance at 30 June 2026, especially the Rs 7,413.9 crore aged more than three years. Later financial statements will show whether that balance is recognised as spectrum, remains in development or is adjusted, and whether the three-month spectrum amortisation charge of Rs 2,103.4 crore changes with the recognised asset base.