Applications
MakeMyTrip expands offline reach with Bangalore office
BANGALORE: In a bid to expand its offline presence in the country, travel portal MakeMyTrip.com (MMT) today announced the launch of its Bangalore office.
According to MMT founder and CEO Deep Kalra, people still prefer buying holiday packages offline although the online travel business had grown threefold in the last one year to Rs 54 billion. Headquartered in Delhi, the company recently launched an office in Ahmedabad and plans to launch Mumbai and Kolkata offices within the next few months. |
He said that Karnataka accounts for only 3 per cent of total outbound and 20 per cent the domestic holidays and hotels sales for MMT. His focus is on holiday market and hotels business to increase the domestic and outbound business from 3 per cent to 7 per cent by FYE 2009 from Bangalore. According to Kalra, several factors work for Bangalore as a location for their new office.At least five new international airlines carriers are to enter the market in the next one year. The Bangalore International airport is expected to be operational by April 2008. Also, Bangalore has a considerable population of young people with more disposable income, who were very open to experimenting new products and ways of buying. |
“The Bangalore market presents a huge opportunity to travel solutions providers. It has always had a strong corporate travel opportunity and today the leisure travel industry too is booming. Holiday or leisure travel currently constitutes around 24 per cent of the total pie – but this segment is growing fast and strong, and is expected to grow 2.5 times to Rs. 7.5 billion in the next three years,” said Kalra. MMT has planned spends of around Rs 300 million towards mass communication, 40 per cent of these spends will on online promotions, 30 per cent towards TVC’s and the rest towards print, outdoor and events. |
Sharing some more figures, Kalra said that presently, 25 per cent of all 
Applications
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.
