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3G auction: Bidding close to Rs 135 billion mark
NEW DELHI: Bids for the 3G auction continue to rise even after 26 days, and stood at Rs 134.74 billion after 148 rounds, almost Rs 100 billion more than the base price of Rs 35 billion.
However, there are clear signs of slow down with applications for price increment for the first round tomorrow coming down to Rs 243 million from Rs 400 million last week for Mumbai, which has so far attracted the highest bid and today stood at Rs 24.34 billion as against Rs 23.73 billion for Delhi.
Karnataka closed at Rs 14.02 billion, Tamil Nadu at Rs 12.87 billion, the rest of Maharashtra at 11.50 billion, and Andhra Pradesh at Rs 11.14 billion. Gujarat closed at Rs 10.34 billion, West Uttar Pradesh went up to Rs 3.93 billion, and Kolkata clocked Rs 3.84 billion. East Uttar Pradesh rose to Rs 2.84 billion, Punjab closed at Rs 1.93 billion, Bihar rose to Rs 1.07 billion, Orissa went up to Rs 402.4 million, the North-East rose to Rs 330.9 million, and Assam went up to Rs 327.7 million
The bids for Kerala, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, West Bengal, Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh remained unchanged. And with no applications for price increment for tomorrow, the bids for some service centres are expected to slow down
The telecom operators in the race are Aircel, Bharti Airtel, Etisalat DB Telecom, Idea Cellular, Reliance, S Tel, Tata Teleservices, Videocon Telecommunications and Vodafone Essar.
The successful bidders would be allowed to start commercial 3G operations from 1 September.
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With 57 per cent single new users, Ashley Madison rebrands as discreet dating platform
Platform says majority of new members now identify as single
INDIA: Ashley Madison is shedding the “married-dating” label that defined it for two decades, repositioning itself as a platform for discreet dating in what it calls the post-social media age.
The rebrand, unveiled in India on 27 February, 2026, marks a structural shift in business model and identity. Once synonymous with married dating, the company now describes itself as the “premier destination for discreet dating” under a new tagline: Where Desire Meets Discretion.
The pivot is data-driven. Internal figures show that 57 per cent of global sign-ups between 1 January and 31 December, 2025 identified as single: a notable departure from the platform’s married core. The company argues that its community has already evolved beyond its original positioning.
“In an age where our lives have been constantly put on public display, privacy has become the new luxury,” said Ashley Madison chief strategy officer Paul Keable. He framed the platform’s offering as “ethical discretion” for singles, separated, divorced and non-monogamous users seeking private connections.
The shift also taps into wider digital fatigue. A global survey conducted by YouGov for Ashley Madison, covering 13,071 adults across Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US, found mounting discomfort with hyper-public online lives.
Among dating app users, 30 per cent cited constant swiping and messaging as a source of fatigue, while 24 per cent pointed to pressure to curate public-facing profiles and early personal disclosure. Some 27 per cent said fears of screenshots or information being shared contributed to exhaustion; an equal share cited unwanted attention.
The retreat from oversharing appears broader. According to the survey, 46 per cent of adults actively try to keep most aspects of their life private online. Only 8 per cent feel comfortable sharing most aspects publicly, while 35 per cent say they are becoming more selective about what they disclose.
Ashley Madison is betting that this cultural recalibration towards controlled visibility can be monetised. By doubling down on privacy infrastructure and reframing itself around discretion rather than infidelity, the company is attempting to convert reputational baggage into a premium proposition.
