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Isro feels the heat over spectrum deal
MUMBAI: The Indian Space Research organisation (Isro) has landed into a controversy over a spectrum deal that its commercial arm Antrix struck with a private company Devas Multimedia for unbridled use of 70 MHz of scarce S-band spectrum for a 20 year-period.
With allegations stating that the loss to the exchequer was huge, the Department of Space (DoS) clarified that the deal was under review.
“The Department (of Space) wishes to clarify that the agreement entered into by Antrix and . Devas on 28 January 2005 is already under review by the DoS and the government will take whatever steps are necessary to safeguard public interest. A decision on the matter is likely to be taken soon,” DoS said.
The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) is scrutinising the deal with Devas which is owned by former Isro scientific secretary M G Chandrasekhar. Devas sold a stake to a clutch of foreign investors, including Deutsche Telecom and private equity firm Columbia Capital, following the spectrum allocation.
Devas was leased the S-band spectrum for Rs 6 billion. Isro was given the contract to launch two satellites for Devas too as part of the deal.
The Opposition attacked the government over the deal. The BJP and the Left parties have demanded a probe, describing it as a scandal bigger than the 2G spectrum.
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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.
