iWorld
IAMAI highlights willful misinterpretation & ill-conceived recommendations on draft telecom bill
Mumbai: In a statement issued on Friday, the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) expressed outrage at the regression and denigration of the debate over regulating the digital economy. Far from the government’s stated goal of creating a trillion-dollar digital economy, the telecom infrastructure industry has attempted to reignite debates that threaten to undo the progress made by the Indian tech industry thus far.
According to data released by the union ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY), India’s digital economy has grown dramatically over the last decade, generating more than $200 billion in economic value each year.
Part of this expansion has been the compartmentalisation of legislation governing carriage and content. India has enabled the growth of both OTT and traditional telecommunications service providers by regulating carriage and content separately.
The rapid creation of India’s 100+ unicorns exemplifies this phenomenon. Despite this meteoric rise that has propelled India to the forefront of the global start-up scene, the recently concluded consultation on the draft telecom bill reveals either a deliberate misinterpretation or a fundamental lack of understanding of how the digital economy operates.
An industry body representing the telecom infrastructure sector has championed the creation of revenue-sharing mechanisms for ‘over-the-top’ (OTT) layers within the ambit of the draft telecom bill.
The association claims that this decision would have far-reaching effects in addition to being disastrous. We pose an existential threat to India’s startup environment by erecting impassable barriers to entry and allowing licensing rules to apply to over-the-top service providers. Foreign investors who are bullish on Indian start-ups may face a chilling effect as a result of the extreme policy uncertainty, which would mean that not only would aspirant Indian start-ups who are still developing and evolving their business and monetisation models face massive compliance costs in their early stages.
“Despite this, certain policy experts continue to propagate fantasies about equitable contributions from stakeholders within the OTT layer, which would only seem to strengthen the gatekeeping abilities of the owners of the infrastructural layer on which OTT services operate. These changes would only establish additional sources of revenues for well-established sectors while leaving the start-up ecosystem vulnerable to compliance costs even when they may be pre revenue,” IAMAI said.
IAMAI, in its letter to the department of telecommunications, expressed grave concern about the impact of these changes on India’s start-up ecosystem and the digital economy. IAMAI also sought to illustrate the success of the extant regulatory framework, which facilitated the creation of 100+ unicorns and 200+ billion dollars of growth, achievements that have enabled India to dream of a one-trillion-dollar digital economy.
Considering this, IAMAI has recommended that the scope of telecommunications services be reviewed and limited to only those who distribute spectrum in a usable form. The time-tested distinction between telecom spectrum-controlling entities and spectrum-using companies should be maintained, as it has been the basis that has allowed innovation and deeper penetration of the internet in India.
iWorld
Schmooze launches AI matchmaker Riya to personalise dating
300,000 users try feature as retention doubles on Gen Z dating app.
MUMBAI: Love might be blind, but now it’s also algorithmically curated and apparently quite chatty. Schmooze has introduced an AI-powered personal matchmaker named Riya, marking its latest push to move beyond swipe-led dating into deeper, personality-driven matchmaking. Unlike traditional matching systems, Riya interacts directly with users through conversations asking about everything from lifestyle and humour to relationship goals and family values. The idea is simple but ambitious: understand users beyond surface-level preferences and recommend matches that actually fit.
The feature builds on a pattern Schmooze had already observed. Its earlier AI tool, People Finder, allowed users to describe their ideal partner in detail and users did exactly that. Requests ranged from “an extrovert who works in tech and likes to cook” to hyper-specific traits, signalling a clear shift towards intent-driven dating.
That insight exposed a gap. While dating apps typically rely on probability-based algorithms, many users already know what they want they just lack a system that can interpret it meaningfully.
Riya attempts to fill that gap using a conversational approach. Instead of rigid inputs, it gathers signals organically sometimes through casual questions about weekend plans or social habits while mapping deeper compatibility markers in the background.
To support this, Schmooze has built its own end-to-end voice AI stack and large language model, rather than relying on third-party systems. The move is aimed at keeping costs in check while handling scale, and ensuring tighter control over user data and privacy.
The early numbers suggest traction. More than 300,000 users have already interacted with Riya, with those users showing 2× higher retention compared to others on the platform. While the system is designed for short interactions, some users are spending up to 40–50 minutes in conversation occasionally even asking for date ideas, prompting the company to add personalised recommendations.
The launch is the latest step in Schmooze’s broader attempt to rethink dating for Gen Z. Founded by Vidya Madhavan and Abhinav Anurag, the platform initially stood out by using memes as a proxy for personality tracking over 3.5 billion meme swipes across its base of more than 5 million users.
In a market dominated by global players like Tinder, Bumble and Hinge, Schmooze’s approach signals a shift from visual-first discovery to interaction-led compatibility. And with AI now stepping in as a digital wingman, the dating game may be moving from swipe right to speak right.
