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SC asks DTH ops to respond to Madhya Pradesh affidavit on entertainment tax
NEW DELHI: Private direct-to-home (DTH) service providers have been given a time of two weeks by the Supreme Court to file their replies to the affidavit filed by the State of Madhya Pradesh in a dispute over levy of entertainment tax on DTH service providers.
Tata Sky, Sun Direct, Bharat Business Channel Ltd. (BBCL) and Bharti Telemedia Limited (Airtel) have challenged the state government’s decision to levy entertainment tax.
The private operators claim that they are service providers and are already paying service tax and levying entertainment tax on them is against law. They contend that paying entertainment tax even after paying service tax is like paying tax twice for one service.
Earlier, the Jabalpur bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court had dismissed the appeal by the private operators and held the levy of entertainment tax as valid.
The Supreme Court division bench comprising Justice Aftab Alam and Justice R M Lodha is hearing an appeal against this High Court order.
Yesterday, the First Bench of the Gujarat High Court directed Tata Sky and other DTH service providers to deposit entertainment tax for July-September 2010 quarter with the state government.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice S J Mukhopadhaya and Justice Akil Kureshi directed Tata Sky, Dish TV, Bharat Business Channel Limited and Bharti Telemedia to deposit the tax due before January 17. The case was listed for 14 February for final hearing.
The petitioner companies approached the high court challenging the amendment to the Entertainments Tax Act by the government which enables the state to levy entertainment tax on the companies for broadcast of entertainment channels.
The state government in 2009 levied entertainment tax of Rs 200 per annum for each DTH connection in the state with Gujarat reportedly having about 300,000 such connections. State Finance Minister Vajubhai Vala reportedly had said the tax was levied to remove discrepancy vis-?-vis the houses connected with cable connections. They were reportedly paying Rs 80 million per annum. Vala had said levy of entertainment tax would net Rs 60 million additional revenue for the state.
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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.
