News Broadcasting
More than 2 lakh lines per day added to the telecom network
MUMBAI: The New Year started with the addition of about 6.78 million phones in the number of telecom subscribers during the month of January 2007 – an average daily addition of more than two lakh lines. As a result, the total number of telephones in the country, now has gone up to 196.7 million thereby registering a growth of 3.5%.
Almost the entire growth registered during the month was in the wireless segment – with GSM contributing 4.99 million and CDMA contributing 1.79 million. With this, the overall teledensity now stands at 17.45%. However, it may be noted that there was a marginal decrease of about five thousand subscribers in the fixed line segment.
Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat telecom circles added more than 3.7 lakh each in the GSM segment, followed by the Karnataka circle (3.5 lakh). In the CDMA segment, the total subscriber base registered a growth of 3.9% with a net addition of 1.73 million subscribers. Maharashtra telecom circle contributed the maximum to this addition. Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra circles added more than 5 lakh subscribers each during the month.
The growth of broadband connections improved further and at the end of December 2006, about 2.03 million broadband connections were provided and coverage of broadband connectivity by public sector service providers has reached 762 cities. The total number of existing ISP licencees is 385.
Under Bharat Nirman Programme, out of the 66,822 villages, so far 38795 villages have been provided with Village Public Telephones (VPTs). The remaining 28027 villages are to be covered by November, this year.
News Broadcasting
India Today Group debuts AI anchor ‘Sutra’ at AI Impact Summit 2026
Sutra aims to simplify live policy debates using sovereign AI models
NEW DELHI: India Today Group has unveiled Sutra, an AI-driven news anchor designed to deliver real-time, contextual reporting, marking the group’s latest push to integrate artificial intelligence into mainstream journalism.
The AI anchor was introduced at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi and developed in collaboration with BharatGen, with the initiative showcased by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
India Today Group said Sutra is built to navigate complex policy discussions and fast-moving developments by synthesising information into concise, accessible insights, aimed at narrowing the gap between high-level debates and public understanding. The AI anchor was used to surface live takeaways from key sessions at the summit.
India Today Group chief AI officer Nilanjan Das, said the project was focused on clarity and accessibility without diluting editorial rigour. He added that working with BharatGen aligned the group’s AI ambitions with India’s broader push towards sovereign technology capabilities.
BharatGen CEO Rishi Bal, said the partnership reflected a shift from basic automation towards deeper contextual intelligence in media. He emphasised the importance of indigenous, multimodal AI models capable of understanding Indian languages, regional dialects and cultural nuance, particularly as AI-driven news formats gain traction.
The launch positions India Today Group among the first major Indian media houses to deploy an AI anchor backed by home-grown technology, underscoring a growing convergence between journalism, public policy and sovereign AI infrastructure.
