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HITS policy coming by year-end: Soni
NEW DELHI: Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni assured today that the Headend-In-The-Sky (HITS) policy would be in place by the end of this year.
Though the policy had been finalised and placed before the Union Cabinet early this year, it could not be taken up. The policy based on the recommendations of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), however, is at a final stage for decision. |
HITS will speed up the process of digitisation of cable TV services across the country. |
Soni expressed the hope that the Broadcast Services Regulation Bill would soon be given a final shape for introduction in Parliament. I&B Secretary Raghu Menon is currently holding discussions with stakeholders on the Bill.
Referring to the concerns relating to TRPs and carriage, Soni said digitisation was the only answer.
Reacting to views, she said the government was prepared to hold a dialogue on foreign direct investment.
Addressing the various TV news heads present, she requested that at least 5 per cent of the 168-odd hours of news broadcasting should be devoted to success stories.
She said her Ministry was presenting holding consultations with the Human Resources Development Ministry on issues such as royalty which had cropped up in connection with Phase III of FM Radio since the Copyright Act was administered by that Ministry.
Remarking on Doordarshan, which completes 50 years next month, Soni said it was a “challenge” to bring it at par with other private television channels.
“The biggest challenge before the Ministry today is to bring DD at par with other channels. DD has a big reach, maximum number of transmitters, even along border areas, and funding is also not a problem for it,” Soni said.
Soni said the new advertising policy was aimed at helping the small and medium newspapers.
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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.
