Applications
BECIL’s FY’11 high points
NEW DELHI: Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Ltd. (BECIL) has presented a dividend cheque of Rs. 10.236 million to Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni.
The cheque was presented by BECIL chairman & managing director Harkesh Gupta for the financial year ending 31 March 2011. Those present on the occasion were I&B Secretary Uday Kumar Varma, and Joint Secretary (Broadcasting) Arvind Kumar.
The Minister said the organisation was playing a critical role in facilitating the infrastructure facilities for different projects in the broadcasting sector. She reiterated that the organisation would have to strive to achieve higher goals and deliverables as a consultancy firm and turnkey solution provider in the future.
BECIL, a Government of India Enterprise under the administrative control of the Ministry with all its shares owned by the Government, has been a profit making outfit ever since its formation in 1995 and has been consistently paying dividend to the government on the equity employed. It is a “Mini Ratna” and ISO Certified Company.
During the Financial Year 2010-11, the turnover of the company has touched an all time high of Rs1.3156 billion and has earned a profit of Rs 82.8 million. The turnover as compared to last year has increased 330 per cent and profit by 204 per cent. The dividend paid today is 75 per cent of the paid up equity.
BECIL is a premier consultancy and turnkey solution provider in the specialised field of broadcast engineering. It has many firsts to its credit like establishment of first teleport in India, first to establish all digital private FM broadcasting station at Bangalore, first to set-up multi channel FM transmission stations in India combining up to seven FM channels, first to design and establish HDTV studio set-up for the Presidential Secretariat and Lok Sabha TV among others.
In the current year, the company is executing major projects worth over Rs.1.2 billion, some of which are:
SITC of VSAT Monitoring and Analysis System (for M/s Antrix
Corporation) – Rs. 300.2 million
SITC of VSAT Monitoring System (for DRL Hyderabad) – Rs. 249.2 million
Supply of 1000 kW MW Superpower Transmitter (AIR Chinsurah) – Rs. 271.5 million
SITC of Broadcast Equipment (for Consortium of Educational
Consultants) – Rs. 88.2 million
Upgradation of TV Studios (for Jamia Millia Islamia) – Rs. 69.8 million.
Setting up of HDTV Studios for National Institute of Open Schooling- Rs. 47.2 million
SITC of DTT Antenna System and Strengthening of Tower at 15 sites (for Doordarshan)-Rs. 46.5 million.
Applications
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.
