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Trai recommends cancellation of 69 2G licences
NEW DELHI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has recommended cancellation of 69 of the 122 licences given for 2G phone services to new players in 2008.
Senior Trai officials said the roll out of services on these licences had failed to comply with the set norms. Six companies had been given these 69 licences.
The official said the licensing terms clearly spell out how much network has to be rolled out in the licensed area each year, and also lists the penalty for failing to do so.
Following the recommendation, Telecom minister Kapil Sibal is understood to have convened a meeting of top officials. Telecom Secretary R Chandrasekhar and other senior officials, particularly those dealing with policy and licensing, were also believed to be in the meeting to discuss the recommendations of the Trai. Notices could be issued to the companies to show cause why the licences should not be scrapped.
Sibal was given additional charge of Communications and IT Ministry earlier this week after A Raja stepped down following his indictment by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in the 2G spectrum allocation of 2008.
Of the 69 licences, 20 have been issued to Loop Telecom, 15 to Etisalat DB, 11 to Sistema-Shyam, 10 to Videocon, 8 to Uninor, and 5 to Aircel.
The uproar over the 2G scam has not only forced the resignation of Raja, but also pointed a finger at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for not taking action.
The CAG has estimated the presumptive revenue loss to the exchequer at between Rs.580 billion ($12.8 bilion) and Rs.1760 billion (nearly $40 billion), based on different valuation parameters.
In the 96-page report including annexures tabled in parliament, the auditor sought to spell out what it felt was the potential loss to the exchequer in 2G spectrum allocation in 2007-08 due to policies followed by then communications minister A. Raja.
Trai officials said many new telecom companies also failed to roll out despite getting licences. It said such companies should be levied fine and their spectrum withdrawn.
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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.
