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Cabinet nod on ordinance on digitisation
MUMBAI/NEW DILHI: The Cabinet Thursday cleared the proposal for an ordinance to commence work on digitisation of cable television, thus giving its seal of approval to the roadmap drawn up by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry.
The ordinance seeks to amend the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act to meet the 31 March 2012 deadline for digitisation in the four metros.
The Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs (CCEA) cleared the proposal for digitisation of TV services that will cover all areas by digital TV by 2014.
Addressing the media after the cabinet meeting, I&B Minister Ambika Soni said, “Cable operators will have to abandon analog in the four metros by 31 March next, while cities with a population of one million will be covered by 31 March 2013. All urban areas would be covered by 30 September 2014. The entire country will be covered by 31 December 2014.”
She said the draft of the ordinance will now be sent to President Pratibha Devisingh Patil for her consideration, and it will be promulgated and notified after her approval.
Ministry sources told indiantelevision.com that the Ordinance was being brought forward as the next session of Parliament was still about two months away and the deadline for digitising the cable television operations in the four metros by March 2012 was fast approaching. (Under the Constitution, any Ordinance has to be approved within six weeks of the commencement of the next session of Parliament, otherwise it will lapse.)
The new ordinance to amend Section 4A of the Cable TV Networks (Regulation) Act 1995 is necessary as it currently does not have any provision for beaming free-to-air channels through the digital set top box.
Presently, a total of around 116 million homes are receiving cable TV signals from broadcasters and MSOs in the country‘s Rs 200-billion cable and satellite television industry.
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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.
