iWorld
Big FM tunes into the power of sun with record-breaking solar campaign
MUMBAI: When the sun comes up, Big FM doesn’t just play music, it powers it. The radio giant, in partnership with the Adani Group, rolled out its ambitious ‘Story of Suraj’ campaign, turning solar energy into a cultural talking point across India. The 360-degree initiative spanned 39 cities, blending radio, digital, and on-ground activations. Its opening act? A nationwide content roadblock introducing every listener to Suraj Bhaiya’s story. With 80 RJs creating over 250 content pieces, the campaign reached an impressive 2.91 crore listeners on-air. Online, it struck another chord, clocking 21 million plus digital impressions across Big Live and RJ social handles.
But the real showstopper came when Big FM set a world record with the first-ever dual-city solar-powered live broadcast, running studios in Delhi and Pune entirely on solar energy no grid, no diesel. The feat earned spots in both the Asia Book of Records and the India Book of Records, putting sustainability firmly in the spotlight.
The campaign didn’t stop at the airwaves. Listeners tuned into stories of solar-powered villages, practical tips, and pledge walls across Delhi, Pune, Modhera, Indore and Lucknow, while the Solar Rooftop Studio Shift showcased the lives of real solar beneficiaries. The crescendo came from Modhera Gram Panchayat, India’s first fully solar-powered village, where Big FM went live to give audiences a glimpse of a cleaner, greener future.
As Big FM’s CEO Sunil Kumaran summed up: “When purpose meets innovation, the impact can extend far beyond the airwaves.” And with ‘Story of Suraj’, the network proved that sustainability can be as powerful as any song on the charts.
iWorld
Telcos push for unified rules as spam shifts to OTT platforms
Over 80 per cent fraud moves online, operators seek common framework.
MUMBAI: The spam may have left your phone network but it hasn’t left you alone. India’s telecom operators are once again dialling up the pressure for a unified regulatory framework, warning that fraud is rapidly migrating to internet-based platforms where oversight remains far looser. According to industry communication, a leading operator has written to multiple arms of the government including the Department of Telecommunications, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and the Ministry of Finance arguing that tighter controls on traditional telecom networks are inadvertently pushing bad actors towards over-the-top (OTT) communication platforms.
The concern is not new, but the framing has sharpened. What was once an industry grievance is now being positioned as a consumer protection issue. Operators say that tackling spam in silos no longer works, as fraudsters seamlessly shift across platforms, exploiting regulatory gaps. The result: a moving target that traditional safeguards struggle to contain.
Executives point to a clear shift in fraud patterns. OTT platforms are increasingly being used for phishing links, impersonation scams and bulk unsolicited messaging, with industry estimates suggesting that over 80 per cent of spam activity has now migrated online. In this environment, the lines between telecom networks, messaging apps and financial fraud are blurring fast.
At the heart of the industry’s demand is a call for a technology-neutral regulatory framework, one that applies consistently across telecom and internet-based communication services. Operators argue that the absence of uniform safeguards, such as sender verification systems, robust spam filters and clearly defined accountability mechanisms, has created enforcement blind spots that fraudsters are quick to exploit.
The proposal is straightforward but far-reaching. Telcos are pushing for baseline anti-fraud measures across all communication platforms, alongside faster response systems and deeper coordination between ministries. Given the interconnected nature of telecom networks, digital platforms and financial systems, they argue that fragmented oversight only weakens the overall defence.
The broader issue is regulatory arbitrage, the ability of bad actors to hop between platforms based on which is least regulated at any given time. Without harmonised rules, operators say, efforts to curb fraud risk becoming a game of whack-a-mole.
As digital communication continues to expand, the debate is shifting from who regulates what to how consistently it is regulated. For now, telecom operators are making their case clear: in a world where spam travels freely, regulation cannot afford to stay fragmented.
