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Increase of FDI in cable sector likely to get early approval
NEW DELHI: With cable operators dithering about switching to digital technologies because of the huge costs involved, a Government proposal for increasing the foreign direct investment in the sector from 49 to 74 per cent is expected to be expedited.
A draft note to this effect by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion had been sent to various ministries including Information and Broadcasting and Telecommunications ministries for their comments and inputs last month.
This will help distribution platforms and also moot the proposal for uniform FDI cap across various carriage platforms like DTH, IPTV, mobile TV, HITS and cable companies. I&B Ministry sources told indiantelevision.com that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India are expected meet the 18-member digitisation Task Force headed by Additional Secretary Rajiv Takru next week review the progress in digitisation following the notification in this regard. The final recommendations will be placed before the Cabinet.
The sources said that 49 of the proposed 74 per cent will be put under automatic route. The remaining will be through Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB). At present, the current norms for FDI differ on various platforms. For mobile TV, HITS and IPTV, it is 74 per cent, but the permissible foreign investment cap for cable distribution companies is 49 per cent. Of this, up to 20 per cent can be FDI. The balance can be from foreign institutional investors and non-resident Indians among others.
In June last year, Trai had made suggestions to raise FDI for broadcast carriage services like DTH to 74 per cent. The broadcast sector regulator had also recommended reducing the FDI cap for analogue cable firms from 49 per cent to 26 per cent, but the I&B ministry did not agree to it.
This will meant a major increase in the FDI cap in the distribution platforms from 49 per cent to 74 per cent and also enforce a uniform FDI cap across various carriage platforms like DTH, IPTV, Mobile TV, HITS and cable companies. At present, 49 per cent FDI is allowed in cable TV and DTH, while it is 74 per cent in HITS.
The move is expected to help the media which has been clamouring for more foreign investment, and for several foreign investors including expatriate Indians.
At present the FDI norms for Mobile TV, HITS and IPTV are pegged at 74 per cent, for cable distribution companies at 49 per cent of which up to 20 per cent can be FDI while the balance can be from foreign institutional investors, non-resident Indians, and others. For private FM radio, the FDI limit was recently raised to 26 per cent from 20 per cent.
The country has about 106 million cable and satellite homes in India, of which 26 million are DTH while 80 million are cable homes. There are 706 TV channels in India.
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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.
