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3G auction in final lap, price reaches Rs 93.3 billion
NEW DELHI: The value of 3G auction picked up slightly on day 17 and has gone up to over Rs 93.30 billion at the end of 100 rounds, even as it was announced that ‘the Activity Requirement will be set to 90 per cent in Clock Round 104.’
The bid for Mumbai continues to top with Rs 14.91 billion, ahead of Delhi‘s Rs 14.17 billion.
The rest of Maharashtra closed at Rs 9.51 billion, while Andhra Pradesh was at Rs 8.43 billion. Tamil Nadu clocked Rs 8.25 million while Karnataka closed at Rs 7.56 billion. Gujarat closed at Rs 7.40 billion, while Kolkata clocked Rs 2.72 billion.
The bids for most states are expected to rise very little. These include Delhi, Mumbai, Kerala, Punjab, West and East Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Orissa, Assam, Jammu & Kashmir, and Himachal Pradesh.
While West Uttar Pradesh clocked Rs 3.19 billion, Haryana rose marginally to Rs 2.22 billion, and the North-East to Rs 312 million. Rajasthan rose to Rs 2.63 billion and Bihar to Rs 354.4 million.
The bids for some states remained unchanged: Kerala at Rs 2.72 billion, Punjab at Rs 1.49 billion, East Uttar Pradesh at Rs 2.60 billion, Assam and Orissa at Rs 309 million, Madhya Pradesh at Rs 2.36 billion, West Bengal at Rs 1.24 billion, and Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh service areas at Rs 300 million each.
The telecom operators in the race are Aircel, Bharti Airtel, Etisalat DB Telecom, Idea Cellular, Reliance, S Tel, Tata Teleservices, Videocon Telecommunications and Vodafone Essar.
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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.
