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NDS appoints Kishore Shirekar as GM in India
MUMBAI: NDS, digital payTV technology solutions provider, has announced the appointment of Kishore Shirekar as general manager of its India operations, with immediate effect. Shirekar will report to NDS Asia Pacific vice president and general manager Sue Taylor. |
In this newly created position, Shirekar will be responsible for commercial operations and customer support at NDS India, and will be based in the Mumbai office. He will develop new business for NDS endtoend payTV solutions in India, and manage NDS support operations for existing customers in India Tata Sky, Hathway Cable and Datacom, informs an official release. |
| Shirekar has more than 18 years‘ experience in the Indian broadcasting industry. Before joining NDS, he was director, sales and marketing for India and South Asia at Scopus Video Networks, Mumbai. In this role he headed several DTH projects. Prior to that, he was deputy general manager for a company offering end toend solutions for the broadcasting and security industry, where he managed a large team of engineers and was instrumental in generating new business, adds the release. Shirekar said, “I see this new role as a great opportunity to change the way Indian payTV viewers are informed and entertained. By working with Indian payTV operators to offer new digital andinteractive services, I can lead a team that is changing the future of Indian payTV. I am excited andlook forward to building on the foundation thatis in place at NDS Mumbai and to take that to the next level.” |
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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.
