Hindi
Films to lookout for in 2014
MUMBAI: As the year 2013 comes to a close, we realise that the year was not really disappointing. We had some really great films that not just did good business but also entertained the audiences. As we usher in the year 2014, we look at the ten films that created the right buzz in 2013 and the chances of them making a blockbuster release looks bright.
Jai Ho
The year is set to start with a blockbuster. Starring Salman Khan, the film that releases on 24 January is going to be high on drama. The actor started promoting the film on Bigg Boss 7 and also cheekily remarked that “it wasn’t the good way to start the promotion”. But we know promotions or no promotions, if the bhai of Bollywood stars in a film, it’s ought to do well!
Gunday
Starring Ranveer Singh, Arjun Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra, the film started making noise from the time it was announced. The tongue-in-cheek humour by the two lead actors on the chat show Koffee With Karan has increased the interest around the film even more. A Yash Raj Films venture, the film is directed by Ali Abbas Zafar and is set to release on February 14.
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Happy New Year
The film brings back the trio – Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone and Farah Khan, who together created magic with Om Shaanti Om in 2007. With an interesting cast including actors like Sonu sood, Jackie Shroff, Boman Irani among others, the film is set to release in October, 2014.
Biopic on Mary Kom
Biopics on sports stars is the new love of the Indian audience, it seems, at least that is what we get from the way Bhaag Milkha Bhaag was embraced. Now, the coming year is set to see another film featuring a sports star – the life of boxer Mary Kom played by Priyanka Chopra. The sportstar has brought many glories to the country. Hope with a film on her, the film industry gains as well.
Kick
Salman Khan may have missed an Eid release in 2013, but for 2014 Eid, he is all set with Kick. There were a few problems in starting this maiden directorial venture of producer Sajid Nadiadwala, but all’s well when Salman’s the hero and when the film’s releasing during Eid.
2 States
The film is being jointly produced by Karan Johar and Sajid Nadiadwala and is based on Chetan Bhagat’s novel, 2 States: The Story Of My Marriage. Starring Arjun Kapoor and Alia Bhatt, the film has created the right buzz even though not much is known about the film.
PK
So this film brings together the duo of Aamir Khan and Rajkumar Hirani who created magic with 3 Idiots. While the film doing good business is a known fact keeping in mind the past records, the only question is if it will be bigger and better than 3 Idiots. With only few leaked out posters, the film that would release on 6 June has managed to keep the audience’s curiosity intact.
Bang Bang
With Krissh 3, Hrithik Roshan has already proven his mettle. Though the production of Bang Bang has been delayed because of multiple reasons, the film would make its way in 2014 with the actor focusing entirely on the project. The film also stars leggy lass Katrina Kaif.
Highway
The cute-looking Alia Bhatt made everyone take notice of her when she starred in Student of the Year. Now, it’s Imtiaz Ali’s Highway for which she is making news. The film, shot in different parts of India, is being looked forward by many.
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Singham 2
The sequel to the 2012 Devgn blockbuster, Singham, has been postponed a bit because Rohit Shetty got busy with his small screen venture as a host for Fear Factor. However, now everything is in place and the duo are set to create the magic that they created with the Golmaal franchise.
Hindi
India’s telecom subscribers cross 1.32 billion in February 2026
Broadband base swells past 1.06 billion as Jio and Airtel tighten grip on the market.
MUMBAI: India’s telecom sector is ringing in steady growth once again adding millions of new connections every month while the race for broadband supremacy continues to heat up like a fiercely contested cricket match. According to the latest data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on 1 April 2026, the total telephone subscriber base in the country reached 1,321.31 million at the end of February 2026. This marked a net addition of 7.31 million subscribers during the month, translating into a monthly growth rate of 0.56 per cent.
Wireless subscribers (including mobile and Fixed Wireless Access) stood at 1,273.31 million, registering a net addition of 6.97 million and a growth rate of 0.55 per cent. Within this, urban wireless connections grew to 730.75 million (growth 0.70 per cent), while rural wireless subscribers reached 542.56 million (growth 0.35 per cent).
Wireline subscribers, though much smaller in scale, showed slightly faster growth. The total wireline base increased to 47.99 million, with a net addition of 0.34 million and a monthly growth rate of 0.70 per cent. Urban areas continued to dominate wireline connections with a share of 89.41 per cent.
Overall tele-density in India improved to 92.66 per cent. Urban tele-density stood at 150.68 per cent, while rural tele-density edged up to 60.02 per cent.
The broadband subscriber base crossed a significant milestone, reaching 1,059.05 million at the end of February 2026. This reflected a healthy net addition of 6.33 million subscribers and a monthly growth rate of 0.60 per cent from January’s figure of 1,052.72 million.
Segment-wise, mobile wireless access continued to drive the majority of growth with 996.52 million subscribers. Fixed Wireless Access (including 5G FWA) added 16.51 million, while wired broadband stood at 46.02 million.
Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. maintained its commanding lead with 519.64 million broadband subscribers. Bharti Airtel Ltd. followed with 364.14 million, Vodafone Idea Ltd. with 129.36 million, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. with 28.70 million, and Atria Convergence Technologies Ltd. with 2.38 million.
Together, these top five players command a massive 98.60 per cent share of the total broadband market.
In the wireless (mobile) segment, private operators continued to dominate with 92.59 per cent market share, leaving public sector undertakings (BSNL and MTNL) with just 7.41 per cent.
Out of the total 1,257.29 million wireless (mobile) subscribers, 1,177.60 million were active on the peak Visitor Location Register (VLR) date, representing an impressive 93.66 per cent activity rate. Bharti Airtel led in this metric with 99.42 per cent of its subscribers active.
Meanwhile, 14.47 million subscribers submitted requests for Mobile Number Portability (MNP) in February, indicating healthy competition and customer churn across zones.
While urban areas still lead in absolute numbers, rural connectivity is slowly catching up. Rural wireless tele-density stood at 59.46 per cent, compared with the much higher urban figure of 142.32 per cent.
Fixed Wireless Access using 5G technology also showed promising traction, growing to 11.93 million subscribers. Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel are the primary players driving this segment.
The data paints a picture of a maturing yet still rapidly expanding telecom ecosystem. With total telephone subscribers now well past the 1.32 billion mark and broadband users comfortably above 1.06 billion, India continues to solidify its position as one of the world’s largest and most dynamic digital markets.
From bustling city streets to remote villages, more Indians are staying connected than ever before proving that when it comes to telecom, the country’s appetite for growth shows no signs of hanging up anytime soon.
