iWorld
Telecom sector continues to be highly taxed: Sunil Mittal
MUMBAI: Speaking at India Mobile Congress 2018, Bharti Airtel chairman Sunil Mittal said telecom sector continues to be highly-taxed just like the tobacco industry. He also urged that the issue of high levy needs to be resolved and mentioned it as a deterrent to PM Narendra Modi’s digital India vision. He also added that the industry is a heavy capital-intensive industry, requires laying of fibre and heavy investment in networks.
“Telecom levies are as high as 37 per cent. Spectrum fee and licence fee are very high coupled with GST at 18 per cent,” said Mittal.
However, he thanked Telecom minister Manoj Sinha and secretary Aruna Sundararajan for the new telecom policy, NDCP 2018, as it includes all important elements. But he also mentioned that the policy clearly acknowledges that revenue maximisation is not the objective.
"There is also one overarching objective of previous policy and also enshrined in NDCP that revenue maximisation is not the objective…Then why operators and Department of Telecom are under litigation for revenue maximisation," Mittal added.
He also spoke about the consolidations happening in telecom sector across the world. The consolidation process hasn’t happened in an orderly way in India other than the Vodafone-Idea merger.
“India's (telecom sector) consolidation hasn't happened in an orderly fashion with $59 billion wiped off, although the merger of Vodafone and Idea has happened and we are happy with that,” Mittal commented.
Explaining the consolidation trends in other countries, he mentioned China and the US. While the upcoming merger of T-Mobile and Sprint would lead to three telecom players in the US, China is also moving towards a two-player market.
While he believes India is not lagging behind in adopting 5G technology, he urged the government to come up with consultations on making fibre a national asset.
iWorld
Why Peaky Blinders is one of television’s biggest hits that still deserves more attention
Six seasons, multiple awards and the release of Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man bring the Shelby saga back into the spotlight
In the crowded universe of streaming content, only a handful of shows manage to leave a lasting cultural footprint. Peaky Blinders is overwhelmingly considered one of the biggest global hits of the past decade. Yet many viewers still haven’t fully explored the dark, gripping world of the Shelby family.
Originally produced for the UK’s BBC and later finding a massive global audience through Netflix, the series quietly grew from a British period drama into a worldwide streaming phenomenon.
Created by Steven Knight, the show follows the rise of the Shelby crime family in post-First World War Birmingham. What begins as a gritty street-gang story gradually expands into a sweeping narrative about ambition, politics, power and survival.
At the centre of the saga is Thomas Shelby, portrayed with extraordinary depth by Cillian Murphy. The casting of Murphy is widely regarded as perfect for the role. With piercing eyes, restrained dialogue and an almost hypnotic screen presence, he transforms Shelby into one of the most unforgettable characters in modern screen storytelling.
Murphy’s brilliance lies in his restraint. He rarely shouts or performs theatrically. Instead, a quiet stare, a calculated pause or a subtle shift in expression conveys the emotional storms within the character. Beneath the ruthless gang leader is a war veteran carrying trauma, guilt and loneliness. Murphy captures this complexity with remarkable precision, making Thomas Shelby both terrifying and deeply human.
Beyond its central performance, Peaky Blinders stands out for its unfiltered portrayal of reality. The show does not romanticise crime. Instead, it exposes the harsh social conditions of early 20th-century Britain, from poverty and class struggle to political extremism and the psychological scars left by war.
The series also presents powerful female characters who hold their own within the Shelby empire. Polly Gray, played by Helen McCrory, is the strategic backbone of the family and one of the most formidable figures in the story. Women in the series shape decisions, influence power structures and challenge the rigid social norms of the time.
Across six seasons, the narrative grows dramatically in scale. What begins in the smoky streets of Birmingham evolves into a story involving political conspiracies, fascism and international criminal networks.
The series has also earned significant critical acclaim. It won the BAFTA Television Award for Best Drama Series in 2018 and multiple National Television Awards for Best Drama, cementing its reputation as one of Britain’s most celebrated modern shows.
Another defining feature of the series is its iconic music. The show’s opening theme, Red Right Hand by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, became instantly recognisable and widely associated with the Shelby universe. Combined with a powerful soundtrack featuring artists such as Arctic Monkeys and Radiohead, the music helped shape the show’s dark, stylish identity and became hugely popular among fans.
And the Shelby story is not over yet.
In fact, its legacy is unfolding right now. The long-awaited feature-length continuation, Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, was released on March 6, 2026, bringing the Shelby universe from streaming screens to cinemas and giving fans a new chapter in the saga.
For viewers who have not yet stepped into this world, the timing could not be better.
Six gripping seasons are ready to binge on Netflix. A new film has just arrived in theatres. And at the heart of it all stands one of the most magnetic performances in modern drama by Cillian Murphy.
So if Peaky Blinders has been sitting on your watchlist for years, this weekend is your moment.
So, by order of the Peaky fookin’ Blinders, consider this your cue to finally step into the ruthless world of Thomas Shelby. Pour yourself a drink, clear your schedule and press the play button. Because when the Peaky Blinders give an order, you listen.
