Hindi
Second Imphal Intl. Short Film Fest in March next year
MUMBAI: Noted Manipuri filmmaker and festival organiser Mohen Naorem announced the 2nd Imphal International Short Film Festival (IISFF) 2013 that will share a common theme – including social issues, public service messages, love, horror and experimental.
To be held between 24 and 28 March in Imphal, the festival will feature more than 150 films from more than 12 countries. The last day of entry submissions is 31 January. The contest is open to all Indian and international filmmakers who have made their film post January 2011 and before December this year. The participating entries may be up to 30 minutes long.
To be independently adjudged by a panel of renowned Jury members, this festival has a competition section offering total prize money of close to Rs 200,000 in 17 award categories apart from a citation, medal and a certificate of participation.
“It is marvellous to see that Imphal International Short Film Festival has grown over the past one year and is taken seriously amongst the well known filmmakers and institutes. With the theme line ‘The Big Picture in Shorts‘, IISFF 2013 event has begun accepting entries for the festival and is much talked about in independent film making circles and that amongst student film makers,” said Naorem.
“Movies are a great way of communication breaking all stereotypes. We will strive and continue to have a grand repertoire of films this time too. In fact, we have received a tremendous opening with entries pouring in from various parts of the globe as well as from Indian participants including from renowned institutes like Whistling Woods International and others,” he added.
Recognized as a major film event in the north east India, the 2nd Imphal International Short Film Festival will once again showcase a host of quality movies from around the world in the presence of prominent guests and the cine enthusiasts. Films & TV World is the online media partner for the festival.
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.
