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Insat-4B ready for launch on 11 March
MUMBAI: Preparations are in the final stages for the launch of Isro‘s latest satellite, Insat-4B, on board Ariane-5 ECA launch vehicle from Kourou, French Guiana. The launch window for the Ariane-5, carrying Insat-4B and its co-passenger Skynet 5A of EADS Astrium, is fixed between 03:55 am and 04:28 am Indian Standard Time on 11 March (7:25 pm to 7:58 pm 10 March, in Kourou). Insat-4B is the second satellite to be launched in the Insat-4 series. Insat-4B carries 12 high power Ku-band transponders and 12 C-band transponders to augment the capacity for direct-to-home (DTH) television services apart from augmenting the Insat capacity for other communication and television services. |
The Master Control Facility (MCF) at Hassan in Karnataka is in readiness to take control of Insat-4B soon after Ariane-5 places it in the Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) of 250 km x 35,886 km. In the following days after launch, MCF will conduct orbit raising manoeuvres to take the satellite into the final 36,000 km circular Geosynchronous Orbit followed by deployment of solar arrays and antennas. Insat-4B will be positioned at 93.5 degree East longitude along with Insat-3A. This will be followed by in-orbit test of the communication payloads. MCF will also carry out regular operations and control of the satellite during its service life. The Rs 3 billion telecom satellite, which is identical to Insat-4A, carries 12 Ku-band and 12 C-band transponders. European space consortium Arianespace will carry out the launch. It will cost around $ 50 million. |
Kalanithi Maran‘s Sun Group has booked seven Ku-band transponders on Insat-4B for its soon to launch (DTH) service Sun Direct, while Prasar Bharati‘s free-to-air (FTA) package DD Direct Plus has booked five. Sun will be using MPEG-4 technology that will allow it to compress more TV channels per transponder. While MPEG-2 can pack in around 12 channels, the advanced compression technology will be able to accommodate over 20 channels. Sun may consider itself lucky that the launch of Insat-4C satellite failed in July 2006 after the rocket carrying it veered off course and exploded. Sun had booked six Ku-band transponders (and one more for digital satellite news gathering) on it for its DTH service. By being located on the same satellite, Sun‘s subscribers will be able to access DD Direct‘s channels without it having to separately put them on its transponders. Live Transmission: Live Transmission of Insat-4B launch from Kourou will be available for Indian TV channels to relay the programme to their viewers. Details of live transmission are as follows: Date : Sunday, 11 March
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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.
