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DAS extension: Karnataka HC reserves order till 16 April
BENGALURU/NEW DELHI: The Karnataka High Court is set to decide on 16 April whether the stay on Digital Addressable System (DAS) roll-out in Bengaluru and Mysore will continue after the hearing in the matter concluded today.
The HC reserved its order after hearing arguments of Union of India represented through Information & Broadcasting (I&B) ministry and the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF), which had impleaded itself in the case on Monday.
Earlier, the HC had heard arguments from petitioners Karnataka State Cable TV Operators (KSCOA) and Mysore Cable TV Operators Association (MCOA) and Multi System Operators (MSOs), the respondents in the case.
The interim order restraining MSOs from disconnecting analog signals continues in both the cities.
The KSCOA and MCOA had filed petitions, which were later clubbed together, seeking relief in digitisation deadline due to shortage of Set Top Boxes (STBs) and lack of clarity on STB ownership.
The MSOs and IBF have sought the dismissal of petition on the ground that a large number of homes have already been seeded and there is no need for an extension to seed STBs in the remaining homes.
Hearing in Gujarat adjourned till 16 April
Meanwhile, the hearing of digitisation extension case in the Gujarat High Court could not take place as the court was pre-occupied with other matters. The HC has adjourned the case till 16 April which means that the stay in Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Surat and Vadodara will continue.
The Cable Operators Association of Gujarat (COAG) had filed a petition seeking postponement of digitisation due to shortage of STBs. The COAG through its president Pramod Pandya has filed a rejoinder to an affidavit filed by I&B ministry.
Pandya said STBs ordered from China has failed to arrive because of internal problems in that country and therefore the local cable operators (LCOs) should be given more time to seed STBs in all the homes.
The Government has already switched off analogue signals in the remaining 30 cities that were covered under phase II of digitisation beginning 1 April.
Along with Karnataka and Gujarat, digitisation has also been stayed in two cities of Andhra Pradesh – Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam – where the hearing is expected to commence next week.
Also read:
Stay continues in Karnataka and Gujarat as courts adjourn hearing to 10 April
IBF joins MSOs to oppose DAS extension in Bengaluru and Mysore
Stay continues in Bengaluru and Mysore as HC pushes hearing to 8 April
DAS Phase II: Karnataka HC extends hearing to 5 April, stay to continue in Bengaluru
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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.
