Reliance Jio Justifies Free Call, Data Offer To Telecom Regulator

Reliance Jio has told telecom regulator Trai that its latest voice and data offer does not violate any of the existing norms that requires promotional offers to be limited to 90 days.Jav XXXPress Trust of India | Last Updated: December 30, 2016 11:57 (IST)


Reliance Jio sent a detailed note to Trai explaining its 'Happy New Year Offer'.
New Delhi: Billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio has told telecom regulator Trai that its latest voice and data offer does not violate any of the existing norms that requires promotional offers to be limited to 90 days.

Replying to clarification sought by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) on it extending the free call and data offer till March 31 after the promotional 90-day period expired on December 4, Jio sent a detailed note explaining how its 'Happy New Year Offer' was different from the inaugural offer and does not qualify to be termed as predatory.

Sources with direct knowledge of the development said the company explained in detail how the new offer cannot be termed as extension of the promotional offer as it was different from the inaugural offer launched in early September. Jav NewThe response was to Trai's letter dated December 20, in which the regulator asked the company why its 'Happy New Year offer' should not be seen as "violation" of regulatory guidelines and also why the offer of free data under the promotional scheme should not be treated as "predatory".

Jio has been maintaining that the latest Happy New Year offer is substantiatively different from the Jio Welcome Offer (that commenced on September 5) as 4GB of free data per day was being provided under the initial offer, while the same was capped at 1GB (under Fair Usage Policy) in the new offer.

Jio is believed to have also emphasised that tariff plans have multiple components and if even a single component is altered, it cannot be construed as the same offer or its extension.

Also, they contend, that in the first offer there was no option of renewal or payment after the 4GB limit was exhausted, but in the new offer, one can recharge both data and the promised speed.

In terms of market dominance, Reliance Jio is six per cent of the installations in the country whereas the Competition Commission of India (CCI) norms specify 30 per cent threshold to trigger the 'misuse of market dominance' clause.Jav Uncensored

Britain Gets Creative In Fighting Rampant Food Waste

Food donated by Waitrose supermarket is made ready for collection by volunteers in London (AFP)
LONDON: One of Europe's worst offenders on food waste, Britain is beginning to get its act together thanks to a surge in volunteer initiatives that help the poor as well as creating a bit of seasonal cheer.
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"That's what I come out for, to have a little chat... It's not only the food," said Bassia Hamech, 76, as she was served a bowl of hot soup in a kitchen in east London run by a charity called FoodCycle.

The kitchen serves up weekly vegetarian lunches to up to 50 people in Hackney, many of whom have health problems or are at risk of social isolation.


One of the volunteers, artist Anne Engel, said the most generous donations come from Turkish greengrocers in the area while big supermarkets are less reliable and today gave only a bag of bread.

"We get them to eat all sorts of wild and wonderful things," said Engel, who brought offerings including mangoes, mint and eggs to a kitchen overflowing with fruit and vegetables destined for scrap.

Teas are swiftly handed out to volunteers and a menu created -- soup, frittata and fruit salad -- and the kitchen team pick out a few furry raspberries and other items which are too old to be used.

"It's about changing the attitudes to food. We get a lot of volunteers who are very frightened of food past its sell by date," Engel said.

2016 has been a landmark year for international campaigners tackling food waste, with both Italy and France passing laws to make it easier for surplus stock to be donated rather than binned.

But Britain has fallen behind its neighbours by failing to legislate on the issue, leaving community groups and new businesses to fill the gap.Jav Censored HDBritain wastes around 10 million tonnes of food a year, according to 2016 figures from the charity Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP).

The EU as a whole has around 88 million tonnes of annual food waste, according to 2012 estimates.

This year's "War on Waste" BBC television show raised awareness among Britain's population, starting with a mountain of discarded parsnips exposed by its presenter, celebrity chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.


'A carpet of fruit'

Regular customers at the new crop of recycled food cafes and shops opening up in Britain include environmental do-gooders, as well as the poor and those just looking for some company.

Even the counters of central London cafes filled with high-end coffee and calorific muffins are increasingly making way for products made from salvaged fruit.

A former FoodCycle volunteer, Ben Whitehead, said he has rescued nearly 15 tonnes of fruit since first requesting surplus on a trip to his local market.

"I got offered 12 boxes of really amazing pineapples. I was on my bike! So they looked at me and laughed," he said of his initial encounter with the traders.

After experimenting with different fruits deemed not perfect enough to make it to consumers, Whitehead set up a company in 2015 called SpareFruit that air-dries sliced apples and pears to create crisps.

"If you drive through the orchards you just see a carpet of fruit. Some of it we wouldn't eat, but I would say 90 percent of that fruit is perfectly edible," he said.

Snact, a similar fruit jerky maker, got off the ground after raising $17,000 through crowdfunding in 2014.

Both companies are hoping to further their ambitions in the new year, with plans to make it into the luxury department store Selfridges.

The chance to launch in a high-end food hall shows how much British attitudes have changed, as Whitehead discovered when he asked consumers whether they would eat something that would otherwise be wasted.Watch jav