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Govt earns over Rs 1 trillion from 3G, BWA auctions
NEW DELHI: The Government earned Rs 1062.6226 billion from the recent auctions of 3G and Band Width Access (BWA).
The revenue is more than three times the target of Rs. 350 billion fixed by the Finance Ministry in its budget documents and more than five times the reserve price.
The realisation for 40 MHz of 3G spectrum was Rs 677.19 billion which is 4.75 times the reserve price of Rs. 35 billion and Rs. 167.51 billion per MHz pan India.
The realisation for 60 MHz of BWA spectrum was Rs. 385.4331 billion which is 7.34 times the reserve price of Rs. 17.5 billion and Rs. 6.4239 billion per MHz pan India.
The auctions were conducted by Department of Telecom and the auctioneer consortium of NM Rothschild India and DotEcon of UK.
Department of Telecommunications Secretary P J Thomas said that according to the memorandum of understanding with the Defence Ministry, more spectrum would be available on 31 November 2012.
Thomas said in answer to a question that the experience was being documented in a report so that it could be replicated in other departments of the government.
He also denied media reports that five bidders had opted out of the BWA auction as they had bid for some rounds but were unable to go on as the bids kept increasing.
The winning bidders range from operators who have won 13 service areas to those that have won only three service areas in the 3G auction. In the BWA auction, a bidder, Infotel (backed by Reliance Industries), won all service areas while another bidder has won only a single service area.
No unsold lots were left through the Provisional Winning Bidder mechanism, thus ensuring greater competition through award of more spectrum.
The 3G auction was held over 34 days from 9 April to 10 May on all days except Sundays and national holidays. The winning firms had to deposit the money by the end of May, and will be allowed to offer 3G services on a commercial basis from 1 September.
The e-Auction for allocation of BWA Spectrum began on 24 May and closed on 11 June after 16 days and 117 rounds of bidding. All the winning bidders including MTNL and BSNL were required to pay the amount by 22 June.
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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.
