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Govt to continue with DataWind for Aakash tablet
NEW DELHI: DataWind has clarified that Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal had said that it will continue to supply the Aakash tablet and future demands according to the current order.
Putting all speculations to rest about DataWind‘s status in the current order and future tenders, a press release issued by it said the HRD Ministry will involve C -DAC and ITI to procure for the future requirements.
Clarifying this, Ministry Deputy Secretary N K Sinha said since the Government did not have enough capacities, they will have to involve other players. The next tender will be for five million tablets.
“This vindicates our point that DataWind continues to be a serious player in the supply of Aakash both for the present order of the Ministry of HRD and also future course”, said DataWind CEO Suneet Singh Tuli. “We never had any doubts about our position in the first place. With today‘s announcement by the Ministry, this has been cleared to all those who were speculating”, he added.
Meanwhile, DataWind, the inventor of the Aakash tablet, has been named a finalist for the Global Mobile Awards 2012 (GSMA) in the category of Best Mobile Innovation for Education. The GSMA‘s Mobile World Congress 2012 will be held from 27 February to 1 March in Barcelona, Spain.
DataWind’s products are built around its breakthrough web-delivery platform, covered by 18 U.S. patents, which reduces network load and delivers a fast and efficient web experience on today’s congested mobile networks. Intended to empower a better quality of education through affordable devices and mobile access, DataWind’s Aakash/UbiSlate tablets deliver the power of billions of web pages of content and communication to students anytime and everywhere.
This award category aims to highlight the rapidly increasing convergence of the mobile and education sectors, and to highlight some of the key areas of genuine innovation in learning initiatives. There are a myriad of new ways that mobile is being used in the education context and environment.
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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.
