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Cabinet gives nod to 74% FDI in telecom
NEW DELHI: Foreign direct investment in telecommunications The union cabinet in its meeting also announced that remote access to networks in India would be permitted from approved locations. Briefing the media after the meeting, information and broadcasting minister Priyaranjan Dasmunsi said such access will only be allowed to equipment suppliers, manufacturers and affiliates and not for monitoring calls and content. Operators will be required to keep an audit trail of all remote access activities for six months, send a compliance report twice a year to the government and maintain a “mirror image” of all remote access information for online monitoring. |
In the note sent earlier to the cabinet, the Department of It was also decided that the chief officer dealing with network operation (network administrator) has to be a resident Indian national, while the chief technical officer may be a foreigner cleared by security agencies. Vigilance technical monitoring cells of the DoT will be augmented and will have a Director-level representative from security agencies, and will carry out both technical vigilance functions and security aspects of telecom service operators. The DoT has proposed that it will extend the date of compliance with Press Note 5 (a note on FDI enhancement, which incorporates these security issues on remote access) for three months from 2 April 2007. |
A high-level group set up by the Cabinet last December formulated these conditions. The group had been asked to suggest safeguards and examine security conditions on allowing remote access to the country’s telecom network from foreign countries. The National Security Advisor, the Cabinet secretary, and Secretaries of Home, Defence, Telecom, and Finance were members of this group. Press Note 5, adding pre-conditions for enhancing FDI in telecom to 74 per cent, had been issued in November 2005 but telecom firms opposed various clauses, including one denying remote access to their networks. Meanwhile, the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India has lauded the decision of government to hike FDI ceiling in telecom to 74 per cent. ASSOCHAM President Venugopal N. Dhoot said this will result into massive flow of investments in telecom. |
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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.
