Broadband
Hathway launches new scheme for cable Internet subscribers
Hathway Cable & Datacom has announced a new scheme to promote Internet through cable as a viable alternative to dial-up. The Silver Starter rate plan offers bandwidth of 64 kbps with a download limit of 300MB. The monthly charge is Rs 650 while the yearly charge is Rs 6500. This is a reduction from the earlier flat fee of Rs 1000 per subscriber. Free e-mail service of 5 mb will also be provided. The Silver Starter plan will exist along with the other schemes where monthly instalments start from Rs 1000 onwards.
The company has also started monthly billing for SMTP Services for domains other than Hathway. The monthly charge is Rs 600 plus the 5 per cent service tax. Earlier this month the company reduced the cable modem price to Rs 7,800 from Rs 9000.
All these initiatives are aimed at attracting Net users in the dial-up system who use around 20 hours a month. The cost of bandwidth has dropped by almost 20 per cent.
Reports indicate that Hathway will not expand the cable Internet service to new areas. Hyderabad will be the only new territory of expansion in the near future. Its service is currently available in Delhi, Pune, Chennai and Bangalore. In Mumbai the company operates from Colaba to Mahim. It also has a presence in the suburb of Chembur.
Broadband
Zoff Foods extends Shilpa Shetty partnership into ninth year
Spice brand reinforces trust-led positioning amid growth and funding push.
MUMBAI: Nine years, one flavour and the recipe clearly still works. Zoff Foods has extended its long-running association with Shilpa Shetty, marking nine consecutive years of her as brand ambassador as the company scales its presence across Indian households. What began as a digital-first collaboration has gradually evolved into a defining element of the brand’s identity. Over nearly a decade, the partnership has mirrored Zoff’s own journey from an emerging challenger to a fast-growing FMCG player with a widening footprint across e-commerce, quick commerce and offline retail channels.
The logic behind the continuity is straightforward. In a category where trust and familiarity drive purchase decisions, particularly in spices and ready-to-cook segments, long-term associations tend to carry more weight than short bursts of visibility. Shetty’s positioning as a fitness-conscious, health-aware public figure aligns with the brand’s emphasis on purity and quality factors that are increasingly shaping consumer choices in modern Indian kitchens.
The extension also comes at a time when Zoff Foods is entering a more aggressive growth phase. The company recently raised $2 million in a Pre-Series B funding round led by JM Financial Private Equity, with participation from Aman Gupta, signalling a push towards expanding distribution, product innovation and market reach.
Company executives have positioned the continued partnership as a strategic anchor amid this expansion, reinforcing brand recall while entering new markets. For Shetty, the association remains rooted in shared values around authenticity and ingredient integrity attributes that resonate strongly with increasingly mindful consumers.
In a market crowded with new-age brands and shifting loyalties, Zoff’s approach suggests a different playbook: build slowly, stay consistent, and let familiarity do the heavy lifting. Because sometimes, in both branding and cooking, it’s not about reinventing the dish, it’s about perfecting it over time.
