iWorld
Ravi Shankar Prasad to inaugurate free Wi-fi connection for tourists at Taj Mahal
NEW DELHI: Within days of Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad’s announcement about strengthening broadband base throughout the country, BSNL has said visitors to the Taj Mahal in Agra will get free Wi-Fi internet facility across the sprawling campus for 30 minutes from 16 June.
However, any browsing or usage like downloading, surfing after this period would invite charges at Rs 30 an hour, a Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited official said.
The trials have been completed and the service will be launched by Prasad in Agra on 16 June.
While the bandwidth is being provided by BSNL, the system integrator – Bengaluru based Quadgen – is providing the wireless support.
Due to security and other reasons, the ASI has only permitted the Wi-Fi availability in a radius of 30 metres from the main gate of the Taj Mahal, officials further said.
Millions of domestic and foreign tourists visit the Taj Mahal, often considered as the epitome of love as it was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal.
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) had requested the BSNL to work on the project to start the facility in the complex. Wi-Fi internet facility at public places in Agra is currently available only at the Agra Cantonment railway station.
If the trials are successful, BSNL may extend the facility to Fatehpur Sikri as well.
e-commerce
ONDC names Vibhor Jain MD and CEO; Rohit Lohia joins as CBO, Manoj Thakur as CTO
Leadership formalised as open commerce network sharpens focus on scale and user value
The Open Network for Digital Commerce has formalised Vibhor Jain as managing director and chief executive officer, cementing a leadership transition at India’s ambitious open commerce platform as it pushes for scale and relevance.
Jain, who had been serving as acting chief executive officer since April last year following the exit of Thampy Koshy, steps into the role with effect from 7th April , according to a report by The Economic Times. He previously served as chief operating officer at the government-backed network, which enables buyers and sellers to transact across applications through an open, interoperable system.
Setting out his strategy, Jain underscored the network’s differentiated architecture. “Going forward, we are concentrating on what open, interoperable infrastructure can uniquely enable, things that no single platform has the incentive or the architecture to do,” he said.
He added that the immediate priority is to widen ONDC’s impact across user cohorts often underserved by platform-led commerce. “My priority is to deepen the value ONDC creates for the people it exists to serve: kisaans, karigars, kiranas, gig workers, first-time investors, and daily commuters across India,” he said.
Jain also flagged leadership reinforcement within the organisation, noting that ONDC has “a strong and exciting leadership team in place”, with Rohit Lohia joining as chief business officer and Manoj Thakur as chief technology officer.
With over 18 years of experience spanning entrepreneurship and consulting, Jain brings a track record in technology-led, large-scale transformation programmes and internet businesses. At ONDC, he has been closely involved in shaping strategy and operations as the network seeks to move digital commerce away from platform-centric models towards an open network approach.
Before ONDC, Jain worked with JUMO, where he helped set up the fintech firm’s India operations, and led the India launch of Mobike, handling regulatory, policy and operational aspects of its market entry. Earlier, he co-founded Atlanta Healthcare, an air quality management company, and spent more than a decade in consulting roles at Andersen and EY, advising governments on public policy and technology-driven reforms, including work on the Aadhaar programme and tax systems.
The mandate is clear but the path is complex. As ONDC attempts to rewrite the rules of digital commerce, Jain now carries the burden of turning open architecture into mass adoption, in a market still dominated by platform power.
