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3G auction: Bids stop for some service circles
NEW DELHI: The bidding for 3G spectrum in at least half of the 22 circles appeared to be coming to a close with no more bids beyond yesterday.
There is little likelihood for any more bids for Western Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Assam, Orissa, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, the north-east, and Bihar.
On the ninth day of auction, bids for a nationwide 3G mobile spectrum licences in India rose 81.5 per cent above the base price to Rs 63.54 billion.
Delhi continued its upward rise at the end of 52 rounds on the ninth day today with a bid of Rs 7.33 billion. Mumbai had a bid of Rs 6.68 billion, while Tamil Nadu peaked at Rs 6.43 billion, and the rest of Maharashtra had a bid of Rs 5.25 billion.
The bid for Gujarat closed at Rs 5.60 billion, only marginally above yesterday’s bid.
The bid for Andhra Pradesh halted at Rs 5.56 billion, lower than Karnataka’s closing bid of Rs 5.72 billion.
Kolkata received a bid of Rs 1.89 billion, only marginally above Monday’s bid. Kerala had a bid of Rs 2.25 billion.
While east Uttar Pradesh closed with a bid of Rs 2.40 billion, west Uttar Pradesh clocked Rs 2.51 billion. Punjab stopped at Rs 1.36 billion and Haryana closed at Rs 2.03 billion.
The bids for some states remained unchanged: West Bengal at Rs 1.24 billion, Madhya Pradesh at Rs 2.23 billion, Rajasthan at Rs 2.20 billion; Assam, Orissa and Jammu & Kashmir service areas and Himachal Pradesh at Rs 300 million each, the north-east at Rs 303 million, and Bihar at Rs 327.6 million.
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.
