The Centre has announced a major bureaucratic reshuffle, appointing Prakash Rajpurohit as Deputy Election Commissioner and approving appointments for 27 civil servants at joint secretary and equivalent levels across various ministries and departments.
Telecom industry body COAI and the British High Commission signed an MoU to boost cooperation in AI, connectivity, and digital trust, fostering responsible tech innovation. The pact, signed at the CO.AI 2026 event, focused on AI's role in intelligent networks, security, and public services. Discussions highlighted AI's importance in combating fraud, improving network efficiency, and ensuring secure digital services. TRAI Chairman Anil Kumar Lahoti and Acting British High Commissioner Ben Mellor emphasised the need for balanced governance and international collaboration to ensure secure, inclusive, and responsible digital transformation.
Sixth Pay Commission has urged the government that all Indian Telecom Service (Group A) officers be absorbed in the public sector telecom service providers, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd & Mahanagar Telecom Nigam Ltd, or sent to the surplus pool. It has also suggested winding up of the Telecom Commission saying BSNL and MTNL now provide extensive services along with several private sector operators. The report states there is no need to retain the 2400 cadre strong-ITS (Group A).
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has claimed that Rs 860-Rs 880 crore generated from an alleged liquor scam in Chhattisgarh during the previous Congress regime was delivered to the Pradesh Congress Committee office in Raipur. The agency filed a supplementary chargesheet against former PCC treasurer Ramgopal Agrawal and provisionally attached his properties worth Rs 9.06 crore. The ED alleges a liquor syndicate controlled the state excise department, generating over Rs 2,883 crore in illegal proceeds.
The Telecom Commission, the policy-making wing of the DoT, will soon take up the issue of divestment in state-run BSNL, Telecom Minister A Raja said on Wednesday.
The Indian government has introduced a 0.4 per cent Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on UPI payments exceeding Rs 2,000 made to merchants, effective from October 15, with a comprehensive framework set to take full effect by October 15, 2026. This policy aims to regulate transaction fees while protecting small merchants and person-to-person transactions.
The Indian government has introduced a 0.4% transaction fee on Unified Payments Interface (UPI) payments exceeding Rs 2,000 for merchants, effective October 15, marking the end of nearly six years of free service. Person-to-person transfers and small-value transactions below Rs 2,000 remain free. The new Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) is capped at Rs 300 for transactions above Rs 75,000, with differentiated rates for essential sectors and investments, and safeguards to prevent costs from being passed to consumers.
The Indian government has introduced a 0.4% Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on UPI person-to-merchant (P2M) transactions exceeding Rs 2,000, effective October 15. This move ends nearly six years of fully free UPI payments, though person-to-person (P2P) transfers and small P2M payments remain free. The charges aim to bolster investment in UPI infrastructure, with specific exemptions and caps for essential sectors.
'Wages have not risen. Rural wages have stagnated. The growth was 0.7 per cent last year. For casual and irregular labour, the wage growth is negative.'
India's fair trade regulator, the Competition Commission of India (CCI), has dismissed a complaint alleging anti-competitive conduct against Reliance Jio Infocom Ltd and over 4,500 other firms across various sectors, citing a lack of specific evidence.
Reliance Industries Ltd reported a 22 per cent year-on-year decline in consolidated net profit for the June quarter, primarily because the previous year's earnings were inflated by a one-time gain from the sale of its stake in Asian Paints.
The Iran conflict led to a sharp correction in Reliance Industries Ltd's (RIL's) share price, which has been partially reversed by a rebound.
The Enforcement Directorate is investigating a large-scale cyber fraud operation involving 5,300 Indian SIM cards used from Cambodia by a Malaysian national-led gang, duping people of hundreds of crores. The probe follows raids in Rajasthan and Punjab, identifying 30 bank accounts linked to the fraud.
Mukesh Ambani, Asia's second richest man, has not drawn a salary from Reliance Industries for the sixth consecutive year, with dividends from his extensive shareholdings serving as his primary source of income.
Reliance Industries' digital arm, Jio Platforms, may see its initial public offering (IPO) delayed to the second half of fiscal 2027, according to CreditSights. The delay is primarily attributed to ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, which could impact market conditions and investor sentiment.
Hyderabad Police have apprehended 66 individuals linked to a nationwide 'ghost' SIM card network, connected to 76 cybercrime cases involving over Rs 101 crore.
Investors are keenly awaiting clarity on Reliance Jio Infocomm's IPO, the company's AI and data centre strategies, and next-generation leadership structure at Reliance Industries Ltd's (RIL's) 49th annual general meeting (AGM).
Delhi Police have arrested three individuals from Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh for allegedly providing mule bank accounts used to route over Rs 1.22 crore in proceeds from various cyber fraud schemes.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has accused the BJP-led central government of using the proposed amendment to the women's quota law as a front for the Delimitation Bill, which she claims will divide the country. She asserted that her party will fight this move at every step.
As the March 31 deadline arrives, a wave of Maoist surrenders suggests insurgency's end, but political and social concerns remain.
A thick layer of toxic smog enveloped the national capital on Saturday as air quality deteriorated sharply, prompting the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) to invoke the strictest curbs under Stage IV of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) across Delhi-NCR.
Brookfield Asset Management will invest $1 billion to develop Asia's largest global capability centre (GCC) in Mumbai's Powai, the New York-based global alternative asset manager said in a statement on Friday. The infrastructure arm of Canada's investment firm will develop the campus across 6 acres with 2 million square feet that can be let out.
In a significant development, the Supreme Court on Tuesday sought responses from the Centre, CBI, ED, Anil Ambani and the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) on a PIL seeking a court-monitored probe into alleged massive banking and corporate fraud involving the ADAG and its group companies.
Will Mukesh Ambani disrupt the telecom market by offering consumers voice calls at rock-bottom tariff?
Identifying major thrust areas for growth of telecom sector, Planning Commission has stressed on the need to upgrade and modernise telecommunication technology being used by the country's defence, police and para military forces.
The commission has disagreed with another key proposal -- that of allowing operators a deferred payment scheme after the auction.
A DoT panel has suggested completely opening up the telecom sector to foreign direct investment, a move which is expected to bring in fresh funds into the industry that is facing a financial crisis.
Anant Ambani, the youngest son of billionaire Mukesh Ambani and the first among three siblings to be appointed executive director on flagship Reliance Industries, will be paid Rs 10-20 crore salary annually plus a host of perks including a commission on company profits, according to a shareholder notice. While the richest Asian's all three children - twins Akash and Isha, and Anant - were inducted on board of the oil-to-telecom-and-retail conglomerate in 2023 as non-executive directors, the youngest of the three was in April this year appointed executive director of Reliance Industries Ltd.
Telecom players have started protesting against government's move to allow Voice over Internet Protocol. They say Reliance will be the biggest beneficiary.
Asia's richest man Mukesh Ambani drew nil salary from his oil-to-telecom-and-retail conglomerate Reliance Industries for the fifth year in a row and dividends remain his main source of earnings. Ambani, 68, had capped his annual remuneration at Rs 15 crore from financial year 2008-09 (April 2008 to March 2009) to 2019-20 (FY20); and since FY21, he opted to forego his salary, due to COVID-19 pandemic, until the company and all its businesses were fully back to their earnings potential.
The Association of Unified Telecom Service Providers of India, the CDMA operators' body, said mobile services could become dearer by 28 paisa per minute if the recommendations by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India are accepted in their current form.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday said a strong domestic manufacturing base in electronics and telecommunications will mitigate burden of growing imports for the sector.
From a policy point of view, India's telecom industry is getting exciting once again. After a lull of a few years, we're back to the same half-truths from regulators/policy makers, and the all too familiar attempts to help favoured firms.
The recommendations of the commission will now be put before the empowered group of ministers headed by Finance Minister P Chidambaram for a final decision.
.jpg)
TC at its meeting here recommended to an Empowered Group of Ministers that reserve price for pan-India 1800 MHz spectrum be fixed 15 per cent higher than Trai suggested rates.
An attempt is to be made over the next month to get over the opposition of staff unions to the Pitroda Committee recommendations on the revamp of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL), the state telecom network outside Mumbai and Delhi.
The Telecom Commission is considering imposing fines of Rs 400 crore (Rs 4 billion) on seven telecom service providers for delay in commissioning of services. A note for this purpose was put up for consideration last month.
A senior official in the Telecom Ministry said the government is considering an exit option for the new telecom players who are struggling to roll out services.
The Central Bureau of Investigation has registered a case against three private cellular companies and former officials of the telecom department for alleged irregularities in the grant of additional 2G Spectrum and causing a loss of Rs 508 crore during the period 2001-2007.
Inter-ministerial body Telecom Commission on Tuesday approved hiking foreign direct investment limit in the sector from 74 per cent to 100 per cent.
