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Govt mulls e-auction for mobile TV
NEW DELHI: Encouraged by the success of e-auction in the case of Doordarshan‘s direct-to-home, DD Direct Plus, the government is now finalising its policy for e-auctioning slots for mobile television.
The policy is being finalised on availability of adequate spectrum and resolution of other issues with the Department of Telecommunications which include nature of technology to be used for mobile television, license area, tenure of license, cross holding restrictions, FDI limits, contention regulation mechanism etc.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology has asked the Information and Broadcasting Ministry to expeditiously resolve all pending issues like identifying and allocation of spectrum for mobile operators, determining the service area of licences and number of service providers/licences in each service area etc. with the Telecommunications Department to finalise the policy for introduction of mobile television.
The policy will generally be based on the recommendations of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai).
Trai in January 2008 had recommended composite foreign investment limit including FDI of 74 per cent for mobile TV service while reiterating its earlier recommendations for a complete review of FDI policy relating to carriage aspects of electronic media as a whole so that it is consistent across all sectors.
The authority also recommended that foreign investments up to 49 percent may be permitted under the automatic route, beyond which FIPB approval will be required.
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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.
