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Arasu puts up dismal revenue performance: CAG
NEW DELHI: Even as the Tamil Nadu Government imposed taxes on DTH in a move to help the Arasu Cable Corporation, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India termed the performance of the corporation as “dismal” on two major counts—revenue and consumer base.
“The company which anticipated a revenue of Rs 2.412 billion in three years of operation up to 2010-11 actually earned only Rs 24.8 million from October 2008 to October 2010. Even out of this small amount, the company could not realise Rs 9.55 million from local cable operators till November 2010,” the report said.
“To earn this revenue, the company incurred Rs 105.9 million in payments made to pay channels (Rs 27.1 million, lease charges for fibre cables Rs 21.6 million and establishment, rent and other incidentals Rs 57.2 million). Thus the overall operations of the company resulted in a cash loss of Rs 81.1 million”, it is stated.
The CAG said that the project proposals approved (July 2008) by the state Government indicated that the company‘s estimated project cost of Rs 915.9 million would be paid back in four years and three months, subject to achievement of anticipated connections—152 million connections in the first year of operation with five per cent cumulative annual growth.
It pointed out that after installation of the digital heads, “the company started with a baby step and procured a consumer base of only 34,350 in August 2008 which expanded to 55,705 in October 2010. But it could not expand further due to non-availability of popular channels”.
The report observed that the company ventured into a highly competitive business and commenced its commercial operations immediately after the clearance of the proposal by the project investment committee in the same month. However, “in the absence of proper strategy to procure telecasting rights of popular channels and increase the consumer base and firm agreements with local cable operators for assured patronage resulted in a cash loss of Rs 81.1 million, besides unfruitful creation of infrastructure worth Rs 282.8 million.”
It also said that the Government stated (August 2010) that its aim of formation of this company was not to augment the revenue but to provide high quality television signals at a reasonable cost to public. The fact, however, remained that even this objective was not achieved as the company did not make headway in enlarging the customer base as envisaged till November 2010 resulting in “continued poor performance”.
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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.
