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West Bengal Govt presses for cable TV digitisation to be extended
MUMBAI: The cable TV digitisation will face opposition from West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee who recently walked out of the UPA government alliance over reform policies like FDI hike in retail.
The West Bengal government has requested the centre to extend deadline for cable digitisation following a meeting with local cable operators and multi-system operators.
“The state government has requested the Centre to extend the deadline for digitisation,” Urban Development minister Firhad Hakim told reporters in Kolkata after the meeting.
During the meeting, the LCOs and MSOs had expressed inability to meet the deadline contending that they had received only 40-50 per cent set-top boxes (STBs).
Hakim said the government should manufacture STBs instead of importing them.
The cable operators from Kolkata had recently disputed government figures on digitisation which said that 67 per cent of Kolkata households have been digitised till mid-September.
In a related development, the Cable Operators Association of Kolkata has threatened of a protest the government‘s decision to digitise cable TV network. The COAK has alleged that the government‘s decision is a hurried one and ignores real issues faced by cable operators.
The association has alleged that the government was working for vested interest of the multinational, corporates and not for the small businessman like Cable operators.
The digitisation deadline has already been extended once from 30 June to 1 October to give enough time to operators to seed the STBs, a critical element in the digitisation process.
Also Read:Cable TV digitisation could face political storm in 2 metros, Mamata Banerjee raises voice
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With 57 per cent single new users, Ashley Madison rebrands as discreet dating platform
Platform says majority of new members now identify as single
INDIA: Ashley Madison is shedding the “married-dating” label that defined it for two decades, repositioning itself as a platform for discreet dating in what it calls the post-social media age.
The rebrand, unveiled in India on 27 February, 2026, marks a structural shift in business model and identity. Once synonymous with married dating, the company now describes itself as the “premier destination for discreet dating” under a new tagline: Where Desire Meets Discretion.
The pivot is data-driven. Internal figures show that 57 per cent of global sign-ups between 1 January and 31 December, 2025 identified as single: a notable departure from the platform’s married core. The company argues that its community has already evolved beyond its original positioning.
“In an age where our lives have been constantly put on public display, privacy has become the new luxury,” said Ashley Madison chief strategy officer Paul Keable. He framed the platform’s offering as “ethical discretion” for singles, separated, divorced and non-monogamous users seeking private connections.
The shift also taps into wider digital fatigue. A global survey conducted by YouGov for Ashley Madison, covering 13,071 adults across Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US, found mounting discomfort with hyper-public online lives.
Among dating app users, 30 per cent cited constant swiping and messaging as a source of fatigue, while 24 per cent pointed to pressure to curate public-facing profiles and early personal disclosure. Some 27 per cent said fears of screenshots or information being shared contributed to exhaustion; an equal share cited unwanted attention.
The retreat from oversharing appears broader. According to the survey, 46 per cent of adults actively try to keep most aspects of their life private online. Only 8 per cent feel comfortable sharing most aspects publicly, while 35 per cent say they are becoming more selective about what they disclose.
Ashley Madison is betting that this cultural recalibration towards controlled visibility can be monetised. By doubling down on privacy infrastructure and reframing itself around discretion rather than infidelity, the company is attempting to convert reputational baggage into a premium proposition.
