iWorld
Apex Court permits Reliance Communication to sell its assets to Reliance Jio
MUMBAI: The Apex court had recently permitted Reliance Communications Ltd to sell its assets to Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. On Friday, the Supreme Court cleared a settlement between RCom and the Indian unit of Swedish telecom equipment maker Ericsson AB, making it easier for the sale of the telecom operator’s assets.
According to a report on Mint, the judgement regarding the sale of assets was delivered by a two-judge bench headed by justice R.F. Nariman. The bench directed Reliance Communications to pay Rs 550 crore to Ericsson by 1 October and asked RCom chairman Anil Ambani to give an undertaking to this effect. On 1 October, the apex court will also hear RCom’s plea to close the insolvency case. Bloomberg reports that Ericsson has objected to the settlement terms of the insolvency case.
The report further notes that that the sale of RCom’s assets will reduce the lenders’ exposure by 50 per cent and it owes about Rs 42,000 crore to its lenders. As part of the deal, Reliance Jio will get 122.4 MHz of 4G spectrum in the 800/900/1800/2100 MHz bands. It will also get 43,000 towers and 1,78,000 RKM (route km) of fiber and 248 media convergence nodes that will cover five million square feet.
Earlier in 2014, Ericsson had signed a seven-year deal with RCom to operate and manage its nationwide telecom network. The Indian unit Swedish telecom operator has stated that it has not been paid over Rs 1,000 crore. Earlier It has claimed outstanding dues of Rs 16,000 crore but settled for Rs 550 crore. The sale of Reliance Communications’ telecom assets to Reliance Jio is pegged at Rs 25,000 crore and the sale is expected to complete within the next three weeks.
At the end of the deal, Reliance Jio will get more telecom assets to expand its wired and wireless business in the country. It will mainly help with Jio’s impending commercial availability of Reliance Jio GigaFiber service.
iWorld
Prime Video to stream Tamil thriller Exam from May 15
Seven-episode series from National Award-winner A. Sarkunam streams in India and 240-plus countries
MUMBAI: Prime Video announced on April 27th that Exam, a taut seven-episode suspense drama set against the crucible of high-stakes competitive testing, will premiere on May 15th in India and across more than 240 countries and territories worldwide.
Written and directed by A. Sarkunam, a National Award-winner, the series is produced under the Wallwatcher Films banner by the creative duo Pushkar and Gayatri, who have previously delivered Suzhal: The Vortex (both seasons) and Vadhandhi: The Fable of Velonie for the platform. Dushara Vijayan and Aditi Balan lead the cast, with Abbas in a pivotal role.
The show will stream in Tamil with dubbed versions in Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam, and Kannada, and subtitles in 15 languages, including English, a distribution sweep that underscores Prime Video’s push to globalise Indian regional content.
Nikhil Madhok, director and head of originals at Prime Video India, framed the series as both timely and commercially astute. “Exam is a very timely and relevant story that captures the emotional intensity of competitive exams and masterfully transforms it into a thrilling high-stakes drama,” he said. “We believe it is a story that will resonate deeply with millions.” Madhok noted that it was a privilege to once again collaborate with Pushkar and Gayatri following the success of Suzhal and Vadhandhi.
For Pushkar and Gayatri, the series is as much a moral reckoning as a thriller. “With Exam, we wanted to dig into ambition, injustice, and those moral crossroads that people face when pushed to the edge,” the creative producers said. “At the heart of this story is a young woman who refuses to remain powerless. Her journey is not about glamorising defiance, but about exploring the emotional and ethical cost of standing up to a system stacked against her.” They described Prime Video as “an incredible collaborator” and “the perfect home” to bring the series to global audiences.
Wallwatcher Films, which Pushkar and Gayatri founded and run, has been on a productive streak with the platform. Beyond Exam, the company is also readying Vadhandhi Season 2 for Prime Video, making the duo one of the platform’s most active regional creative partners.
The real exam, it seems, is for Prime Video itself: can a Tamil drama about systemic injustice and a young woman’s defiance crack audiences from Chennai to Chicago? If Pushkar and Gayatri’s track record is anything to go by, the answer is likely yes, and the results will be out on May 15th.
