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Govt launches SMS campaign to sensitise people to fill consumer application forms for DAS
NEW DELHI: With the pace of consumers entering into agreements with local cable operators (LCOs) moving at a snail‘s pace, the government has decided to launch an SMS campaign in order to sensitise Cable TV subscribers in Phase-I and Phase-II cities about the need to fill the consumer application form (CAF).
The consumers are required to fill the CAF in order to exercise their choice of channels and make the payment for the channels of their choice only.
The Information and Broadcasting ministry has been monitoring the availability of set top boxes (STBs) with the multi system operators (MSOs). Broadcasters are already running scrolls on TV channels to inform the public about the importance of filling CAF forms. MSOs are also giving messages on their local TV channels. Analogue signals have already been switched off by almost all the MSOs and digital signals are generally being encrypted.
As part of the process, over 80 fresh provisional registrations were issued to MSOs for operation in one or more cities of Phase-II, with the condition that they would operationalise their digital head-end before the cut-off date.
After technical inspection of all the concerned MSOs which showed some had not operationalised their set ups, the ministry issues 48 show cause notices, and cancelled the provisional registration of 15 defaulting MSOs.
The ministry has been consistently monitoring the progress made towards digitization during Phase II of the process. According to the data received from the MSOs and direct-to-home Operators, 22 cities have already achieved 100 per cent target of digitisation. Another 14 cities have shown considerable progress and the achievement remains less than 50 per cent only in Coimbatore and Vishakhapatanam.
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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.
