RDB's Blog

Is India Not Ready for Satellite Internet?

2026-10-17T22:43:36.031+05:30

Recently Elon Musk, the American billionaire and owner of global leader of satellite internet, Starlink takes on Reliance, the largest private company backed by Indian industrialist Mukesh Ambani, as Starlink's launch in India is getting delayed. Musk posted sarcastically on X (formerly Twitter, now owned by Elon Musk owned X Corp), asking, "Dear Prime Minister Ambani, Please accept my humble apologies for not realising that you are the real boss of India... would you nonetheless consider allowing Starlink to compete?"

Reliance Industries, backed by Ambanis, has its own telecom services in India as Jio, which offers 4G and 5G services across India with excellent coverage - almost 99%. Since its inception in 2015-16, Jio had broke the price barrier to bring affordable mobile services to thousands of Indians.

Elon Musk's post targets two things. First he is trying to say - Starlink can compete Jio's present 4G/5G based telecom services and it would bleed Jio's revenue. Hence Ambani family is creating roadblocks to the launch of Starlink in India via political and bureaucratic way. Second, Starlink can be affordable in India if Starlink wants to take on existing mobile services.

Interestingly, on March 12, 2025 Jio Platforms Limited (JPL) announced its agreement with SpaceX to offer Starlink services. Just one day prior, Airtel also announced a similar distribution agreement with SpaceX. Under the agreement, Jio agreed to make Starlink hardware solutions—such as user terminals—available across its physical retail outlets and online storefronts in India and also will handle customer onboarding, including local installation and activation assistance.

Despite the strategic partner of Starlink in India, Reliance backed Jio took a blow from Elon Musk, the Starlink owner.

Now think clearly - both Airtel and Jio have their own satcom systems. Airtel had invested on OneWeb in July 2020 and June 2021 - which is now Eutelsat OneWeb, while Jio has formed their own satcom company Jio Space Technology Limited (operating also via Orbit Connect India) by creating a JV with European space company SES.

Regulatory Status & Global Footprint at a Glance

Satellite Provider	GMPCS License Status	IN-SPACe Authorization	Operational Satellites	Current Operational Countries / Reach
Bharti Airtel-backed OneWeb	Granted (April 2022)	Approved (November 2023)	648 satellites (Complete Gen-1 fleet)	Global coverage (Enterprise focused, active in North America, Europe, maritime zones, and expanding via local partner telcos i.e. B2B model)
Jio Space Technology	Granted (October 2022)	Approved (June 2024)	Leveraging SES multi-orbit fleet (specifically O3b mPOWER MEO & GEO satellites)	Global reach via SES infrastructure; tailored deployment focusing primarily on Indian enterprise and backhaul networks.
SpaceX's Starlink	Granted (June 2025)	Approved (July 2025)	~11,100+ active satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO)	160+ countries and territories with active consumer service (across North/South America, Europe, Australia, and parts of Africa) (B2C)

* B2C (business-to-consumer) = Starlink sells hardware directly to consumers and consumers can pay directly to Starlink on their website.

* B2B (business-to-business) = While OneWeb launched their services globally but you can only use its network indirectly. For example, you might use it if your local cell tower routes traffic over a OneWeb link, or if you are using Wi-Fi provided on a cruise ship or commercial flight powered by their constellation. OneWeb sells satellite capacity to internet service providers, local telecom giants (like Bharti Airtel in India), and authorized distribution partners (such as Hughes or Speedcast). These partners then package the bandwidth into enterprise solutions.

The fourth player - Amazon Leo already missed their mid-2026 launch target, though 396 broadband satellites via 14 launches so far, with only four that have been deorbited. (Source)

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So all the three companies got GMPCS licenses, and IN-SPACe authorization, but neither of them can launch services in India. They all stuck at the exact same final checkpoints.

1. Security Compliance & Data Routing: The Indian government enforces strict data-sovereignty conditions. Starlink must prove that all domestic data traffic, lawful interception systems, and user terminal monitoring happen entirely within servers hosted in India. While Starlink has established local infrastructure (including multiple gateway sites), final security vetting by the Ministry of Home Affairs is still pending.

2. Spectrum Pricing: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and the DoT are still finalizing the exact administrative pricing structure and guidelines for assigning the satellite frequencies.

So what Musk implicating that Ambanis blocking the entry of Starlink is defenitely not a fact. It's a regulatory roadblock for every single companies who wants to launch satellite internet in India.

The security issues with Satellite Internet is huge, as India neighbors with some countries like Pakistan and China which are not very friendly with India. Not only that the drug rackets, black market dealing will be more on the satellite internet if lawful interception is absent. Even unlawful dealing which are done mostly on darknet today, will be shifted to satellite internet to some extend.

In December 2024, during a joint search operation conducted by the Indian Army, Assam Rifles, and the Manipur Police in the Keirao Khunou area of Imphal East, security forces uncovered an active hideout of the banned insurgent group, the .People's Liberation Army of Manipur where forces seized a Starlink satellite antenna and router alongwith automatic weapons, an MA4 assault rifle (commonly used by the Myanmar Army), and grenades. The hardware carried the physical markings "RPF/PLA".

Though Starlink geofenced India, as even with global roaming activated Starlink hardware would not work in India, but in hilly areas of North East and in Kashmir it may work. And we don't know whether hackers can crack the code to liberate the device to go global.

Starlink is helping Ukraine in the war against Russia by offering internet in the war-struck areas, but when it comes to Ukraine's need of internet to hit Russian warships by the swamp of drones, Starlink stopped the serices. So in India, I would also doubt Starlink as even in distressed time, it could hold its services like America denied GPS during Kargil war.

So there are lots of issues to be considered before granting a security clearance to a satellite companies.

Many also alleged that Jio being a strategic partner of Starlink, has its look into Starlink's India blueprint. If it is true, Jio already make their plans to welcome Starlink with roughest terms.

Starlink, though offers upfront hardware cost of $199-$599 on average, and monthly cost of $30-$130 on average, has became price-sensitive in African countries i.e. regional dynamic pricing to adapt to local economic conditions and to penetrate the African market and compete directly with local 4G networks and urban fiber providers. In Kenya Starlink introduced 50GB plan at just $ 10 (Rs 950 approx). In Rwanda and Nigeria their plans are very affordable (USD 27-28, approx Rs 2500-2700 per month).

However India is already enjoying super affordable data plans on 4G and 5G. 5G from Jio and Airtel has wide coverage and offers unlimited 5G at lowest of Rs 310 per month. Jio officially announced, "At Reliance, we have never feared competition,"

In short, Starlink has to bleed Indian telecom service providers with heavily cut plans to make a business with satellite internet. And disrupting Indian telecom market is not easy for a satellite player.

In US, SpaceX has acquired 14 MHz of paired 800 MHz low-band spectrum Grain Management - which would mark Starlink's entry into America's mobile telephony market as Starlink Mobile which would act as a hybrid space-terrestrial cellular network.

Though Elon Musk has to shell out huge amount to get a widespread coverage like the established players - for him nothing is impossible. He could eventually introduce Starlink Mobile in Africa and Asia.

Anyway India's mobile telephony is not like it was in 2010s, it is now affordable and provides good coverage and good experience (I mean speed, OTT experience and ping) - beating the incumbents is impossible for Starlink's Indian venture as of now.

At a point Elon Musk is so similar of Elliot Carver, the media baron protraited in the James Bond film, Tomorrow Never Dies.

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And biggest question remains that we really need satellite internet for regular uses? My simple answer is no. The reason is simple - I don't want to upgrade my 5G smartphone as of now.

চন্দননগরের রেজিস্ট্রি বাড়ি এবং চন্দননগর ফেস্টিভ্যাল (২০২৬)

2026-09-17T04:41:00.000+05:30

এই বছর সেপ্টেম্বরের ১১ থেকে ১৩ তারিখ চন্দননগরে হয়ে গেল এক অভিনব উৎসব - দ্য চন্দননগর ফেস্টিভ্যাল। এই উৎসবের মূল বিষয়বস্তু ছিল ষ্ট্র্যাণ্ড রোডের ঊনবিংশ শতাব্দীর ঐতিহাসিক ‘রেজিস্ট্রি ভবন’-এর সংস্কার এবং উৎসবের প্রথম দিন ১১ই সেপ্টেম্বরের সন্ধ্যাটির নামকরণ করা হয় ‘দ্য রেজিস্ট্রি’ (The Registry) ।

ফরাসি আমলের একসময়ের জমকালো রেজিস্ট্রি অফিসটি এখন জরাজীর্ণ অবস্থায় পড়ে আছে। এর ভাঙা জানালা ও বেরিয়ে থাকা লাল ইটের দেয়ালগুলো বটগাছের ঘন ঝুরি ও শিকড়ে এতটাই ভরে গেছে যে মনে হয় পুরো কাঠামোটিই যেন বটগাছগুলোর ওপর ভর করে দাঁড়িয়ে আছে।

Registry Building, Chandannagar (2022)

১৮৭৫ সালে চন্দননগরে ফরাসি শাসকদের নির্মিত এই ভবনটি একসময় আদালত ও মূল প্রশাসনিক কার্যালয় হিসেবে ব্যবহৃত হতো। বস্তুত, এই ঔপনিবেশিক শহরের প্রথম আদালত ভবন ছিল এটিই। ঊনবিংশ শতাব্দীর ফরাসি স্থাপত্যরীতির অপূর্ব নিদর্শন এই ‘রেজিস্ট্রি ভবনটি’ ইট ও চুন-সুরকি দিয়ে তৈরি। বিশাল বারান্দা, সমতল ছাদ এবং দোতলায় ফরাসি ধাঁচের সুদৃশ্য জানালা এর অন্যতম প্রধান বৈশিষ্ট্য।

The Registry Building (2026)

বেহাল অবস্থা

Registry Building, Chandannagore (2026)

ফরাসি আমলে চন্দননগরবাসীর প্রাত্যহিক জীবনে 'রেজিস্ট্রি ভবনটি' বিশেষ গুরুত্ব বহন করত। অসংখ্য মামলা রুজু করা থেকে শুরু করে বিবাহ নথিভুক্তকরণ—সবই হতো এই ঐতিহাসিক ভবনে।

রেজিস্ট্রি বাড়ির সামনে মূল অনুষ্ঠান মঞ্চ (১১ সেপ্টেম্বর ২০২৬)

আলোয় আলোয়, রেজিস্ট্রি বাড়ির সামনে মূল অনুষ্ঠান মঞ্চ (১১ সেপ্টেম্বর ২০২৬)

পশ্চিমবঙ্গ হেরিটেজ কমিশন (WBHC) ২০১৭ সালেই এই বাড়িটিকে হেরিটেজ স্থাপত্যের তকমা দেয়। তখনই বলা হয়েছিল যে এই বাড়িটির 'Urgent Restoration' দরকার।

Blue Plaque of Registry Building Chandannagore from WBHC

এরপর দিল্লির ঐতিহাসিক স্থাপত্য সংস্কার এবং রক্ষণাবেক্ষণ সংস্থা ‘ঐশ্বর্য টিপনিস আর্কিটেক্টস’ (Aiswarya Tipnis Architects) কলকাতায় অবস্থিত ফরাসি দূতাবাসের সহযোগিতায় এই ঐতিহাসিক কাঠামোটি মেরামতের জন্য একটি ‘Crowd-funding' উদ্যোগ নেয়। Bonjour India Project-এর এর তৃতীয় সংস্করণের একটি অংশ ছিল এই ক্রাউড-ফাণ্ডিং উদ্যোগটি। এর ফলে ভবিষ্যতে চন্দননগরের অন্যান্য ঐতিহাসিক স্থাপত্যগুলির সংস্কারের কাজ শুরু করতে সুবিধা হবে।

প্রকল্পটিতে এক বছর ধরে কাজ চলার পর, ২০১৯ সালে পশ্চিমবঙ্গ হেরিটেজ কমিশনের চেয়ারম্যান ও বিশিষ্ট শিল্পী শুভাপ্রসন্ন এবং ফরাসি রাষ্ট্রদূত Alexander Zeigler যৌথভাবে ঐতিহ্যবাহী স্থাপনাটির স্মারক ফলক উন্মোচন করেন। ক্রাউড ফাণ্ডিং ছাড়াও এই সংস্কারের কাজে ফ্রান্স নিজে থেকে টাকা দেবে বলে ঠিক হয়। ফ্রান্স সরকারের তরফ থেকে এই কাজের জন্য পণ্ডিচেরি সরকারের প্রাক্তন পরামর্শদাতা Raphael Gastebois-কে নিয়োগ করা হয়। সেই সময় ২০১৯ সালের ফেব্রুয়ারি মাসে পশ্চিমবঙ্গ সরকার এবং ফরাসি সরকারের মধ্যে এই সংস্কারকাজের জন্য ত্রিশ মাসের একটি মৌ (MoU অর্থাৎ Memorandum of Understanding) স্বাক্ষরিত হয়। Virginie Corteval (French Consul of Kolkata), Fabrice Plançon (Director of Alliance Francaise du Bengale), Alice Brunot (French cultural official) সহ বেশ কিছু লোকজন মিলে একটি দল গঠন করা হয়। কাঠামোটি মেরামত এবং এর রক্ষণাবেক্ষণের উপায় নিয়ে বিশদ পর্যালোচনার পর, পরিকল্পনাবিদ ও স্থপতিরা ভবনটিতে একটি বুটিক হল, একটি কফি শপ এবং একটি লাইব্রেরি গড়ে তোলার পরিকল্পনা করেন। তবে ২০১৯-এর শেষ থেকে কোভিড মহামারি শুরু হলে এই কাজ প্রায় থেমেই যায়।

২০২১ সালে মহামারির শেষে ২২শে জুন পশ্চিমবঙ্গ সরকারের পর্যটন বিভাগের তৎকালীন প্রধানসচিব নন্দিনী চক্রবর্তী এবং ফ্রান্স সরকারের তরফে ফরাসি কনসাল জেনারেল Virginie Corteval চন্দননগরের ‘চাঁদের বাড়ি’ (রেজিস্ট্রি বিল্ডিং) পুনরুদ্ধারের মেয়াদ বৃদ্ধির বিষয়ে একটি MoU স্বাক্ষর করেন (WB Tourism tweeted on X)। যদিও বিভিন্ন কারণে কাজের কাজ কিছুই শুরু হয়নি। ক্রাউড ফাণ্ডিং উদ্যোগটিও ঠিকঠাক চলেনি, যদিও অনেকেই মনে করেন এই প্রজেক্টের ব্যাপারে শহরের মানুষের কাছে ভালোভাবে পৌঁছানোই যায়নি।

প্রসঙ্গত এর আগে পশ্চিমবঙ্গ সরকার ডেনমার্কের জাতীয় জাদুঘরের সাথে যৌথ উদ্যোগে একটি জরাজীর্ণ ভবন সংস্কার করেছিল, যা ঔপনিবেশিক আমলে একটি 'ট্যাভার্ন' (পানশালা ও সরাইখানা) হিসেবে ব্যবহৃত হতো। আমূল সংস্কারের পরে নতুন রূপে সজ্জিত এই 'ডেনমার্ক ট্যাভার্ন'টি বর্তমানে কলকাতার একটি বেসরকারি হোটেল গোষ্ঠী (পার্ক হোটেল) হোটেল ও রেস্তোরাঁ হিসেবে পরিচালনা করছে।

২০২৬ সালে এপ্রিলে রাজ্যে রাজনৈতিক পালা বদল হলে রাজ্যের পর্যটন মন্ত্রী হন ডঃ শঙ্কর ঘোষ। মূলত তাঁর উদ্যোগেই এই বছর শুরু হল চন্দননগর উৎসব। মূল আলোচ্য কিন্তু রেজিষ্ট্রি বাড়ির ঐতিহ্যবাহী সংস্কার এবং এই উদ্যোগে সাধারণ মানুষকে পাশে টানা।

এই শহরের জগদ্ধাত্রী পুজোর আলোকসজ্জা বা যাকে বলি লাইটিং খ্যাতি বিশ্বজোড়া, তা মেনেই এই উৎসবে স্ট্র্যাণ্ড রোড এবং স্যাক্রেড হার্ট গির্জাকে সাজিয়ে তোলা হয়েছিল আলোয় আলোয়। ফ্রান্সের রাজধানী প্যারিস-এর মত করেই চন্দননগর সেজে উঠেছিল।

Strand Road of Chandannagar

Lights on Strand Road, Chandannagore

এই উপলক্ষে চন্দননগরে উপস্থিত ছিলেন ফরাসি রাষ্ট্রদূত Thierry Mathou এবং ফরাসি সরকারের (কলকাতায় অবস্থিত ফ্রান্সের কনস্যুলেট জেনারেল) প্রতিনিধিরা। এছাড়া প্রশাসনের পক্ষ থেকে গঙ্গা আরতি ও সাংস্কৃতিক অনুষ্ঠানেরও আয়োজন করা হয়েছিল। তিন দিন ধরে স্ট্র্যান্ড রোডের দুপাশে বিভিন্ন খাবারের স্টল বসানো হয়েছিল, যেখানে ভারতীয় খাবারের পাশাপাশি ফরাসি ও অন্যান্য কন্টিনেন্টাল খাবার পরিবেশন করা হয়েছিল।

এই অনুষ্ঠান উপলক্ষে চন্দননগরের MLA দীপাঞ্জন গুহ বলেছেন, “Chandannagar has a rich history and culture, as well as numerous architectural heritage sites. These must be protected. Chandannagar was also once a place where revolutionaries took shelter in secrecy. Chandannagar has a deep emotional and historical connection with France, and we have taken this initiative to strengthen that bond further.”

রাজ্য সরকারের একটি পরিকল্পনা রয়েছে এই অঞ্চলের গঙ্গানদীবর্তী প্রাক্তন ইউরোপীয় বসতিগুলিকে—যার মধ্যে রয়েছে ব্যারাকপুর, শ্রীরামপুর, চন্দননগর, চুঁচুড়া ও ব্যান্ডেল—নিয়ে একটি পর্যটন সার্কিট গড়ে তোলার; এই এলাকাগুলোকেই প্রায়শই ‘গঙ্গার ধারে লিটল ইউরোপ’ বা ‘ছোট ইউরোপ’ বলে অভিহিত করা হয়। উল্লেখ্য, এই শহরগুলো যথাক্রমে ব্রিটিশ, ডেনিশ, ফরাসি, ডাচ ও পর্তুগিজ—বিভিন্ন ইউরোপীয় দেশের উপনিবেশ ছিল।

তথ্যসূত্রঃ
https://www.aishwaryatipnisarchitects.com/work/registry-building-chandernagore

https://www.aishwaryatipnisarchitects.com/work/french-colonial-town-chandernagore

https://heritagechandernagore.com/

চন্দননগরঃ হরিহর শেঠ

2026-08-29T02:24:23.565+05:30

দেশশ্রী হরিহর শেঠ

হুগলী নদীর ধারে একসময় ছিল লিটল ইউরোপ আর সেই ইউরোপের ফ্রান্স ছিল চন্দননগর। মানে বুঝতেই পারছেন যে চন্দননগরে ফরাসীদের উপনিবেশ ছিল। আর কাছাকাছি শ্রীরামপুরে ড্যানিশরা, চুঁচুড়াতে ডাচেরা, ব্যাণ্ডেলে পর্তুগীজরা এবং হুগলীর উল্টো পাড়ে বারাকপুরে ইংরেজরা ঘাঁটি গেড়েছিল। আজ চন্দননগর বললেই সবার মাথায় ঘোরে জগদ্ধাত্রী পুজো আর তার আলোকসজ্জা (যাকে চলতি কথায় বলে লাইটিং), সূর্যকুমার মোদকের জলভরা আর নদীর ধারে স্ট্রাণ্ড। আজকের গল্প সেই চন্দননগর নিয়ে যখন এখানে ফরাসীদের উপনিবেশ এবং ১৯০০-শতকে এই শহরের উন্নতির পিছনে থাকা একজন মানুষকে নিয়ে। আজকের দিনে দাঁড়িয়ে ক'জন-ই বা মনে রেখেছেন হরিহর শেঠকে? সত্যি কথা বলতে চন্দননগর নিয়ে পড়াশুনা না করলে এঁনাকে আমি চিনতাম না।

শ্রীরামপুর থেকে ডেন বা ড্যানিশরা চলে যায় ১৮৪৫-এ, তখন কলকাতার খ্যাতি গগনচুম্বী। ব্রিটিশরা সেভাবে আর এই পুরনো শহরের দিকে নজর দেয়নি। কিন্তু শ্রীরামপুরের বিখ্যাত গোস্বামী পরিবারের পরের পর প্রজন্মের এক-একটি মানুষ শহরের উন্নতিকল্পে দান করে গেছেন অকাতরে। গোস্বামীদের নাম সেই অর্থে আজকের প্রজন্ম মনে না রাখলেও শ্রীরামপুরের তথাকথিত রাজবাড়ি তো আসলে গোস্বামীদের-ই বাড়ি। সেই দিক থেকে দেখলে চন্দননগরের নব-রূপকার বা প্রাণপুরুষ হরিহর শেঠ (জন্ম: ১৪ ডিসেম্বর, ১৮৭৮ — মৃত্যু: ১০ মার্চ, ১৯৭২)-কে কিন্তু অনেকেই চেনেন না।

আরো একটা ঘটনা না বললেই নয়। ১৯৮৭ সালে ফ্রান্সের সর্বোচ্চ জাতীয় সম্মান - ‘লেজিয়ঁ দনার’ পেয়েছিলেন সত্যজিৎ রায়। কিন্তু তাঁর আগে চন্দননগরের তিন বাঙালি পেয়েছেন এই সম্মান। ১৮৯৬ সালে প্রথম ভারতীয় হিসেবে এই সম্মান পান দুর্গাচরণ রক্ষিত। তারপর এই সম্মান পেয়েছিলেন আধুনিক চন্দননগরের প্রাণপুরুষ হরিহর শেঠ ১৯৩৪ সালে। আর তৃতীয় বাঙালিটি হলেন হুগলি কোর্টের অ্যাডভোকেট সত্যেন্দ্রনাথ ঘোষ। তিনি ছিলেন চন্দননগরের অন্যতম রাজনৈতিক দল প্রজাসমিতির সভাপতি এবং পরে চন্দননগরের মেয়রও হন। পণ্ডিচেরির গভর্নর ২৪ মার্চ, ১৯৩৬-এ পত্রযোগে সত্যেন্দ্রনাথ ঘোষের ‘লেজিয়ঁ দনার’ প্রাপ্তির কথা জানিয়েছিলেন।

হরিহর শেঠের পরিবার আদতে ছিল হুগলি জেলার মহানদের বাসিন্দা এবং পরবর্তীকালে ব্যবসার জন্য হারিট এবং তারপরে চন্দননগরে চলে আসেন। এঁরা ছিলেন গোত্রে সোমঋষি এবং জাতে তিলি ক্ষত্রিয়-ব্যবসায়ী। এই পরিবারের আদি উপাধি ছিল নন্দী হলেও ব্যবসায়িক সমৃদ্ধি তাদের 'শেঠ' বা 'শ্রেষ্ঠী'দের সমকক্ষ করে তোলে এবং ফলস্বরূপ তাঁরা 'শেঠ' উপাধি লাভ করেন।

সম্ভবত কালীচরণ শেঠের সময়ে এই পরিবার চন্দননগরে এসে পৌঁছায় এবং চন্দননগরের বোড় কৃষ্ণপুরে প্রায় সাড়ে ষোলো কাঠা জমির উপর একটি বসতবাড়ি তৈরি করে। কালীচরণের কনিষ্ঠ পুত্র ছিলেন প্রাণকৃষ্ণ শেঠ, প্রাণকৃষ্ণের দ্বিতীয় পুত্র হলেন রাধামোহন শেঠ। রাধামোহন এবং রাধারাণীর পুত্র ছিলেন শম্ভুনাথ শেঠ। মূলত শম্ভুনাথের সময় থেকেই শেঠ পরিবার চন্দননগরের এক বিশিষ্ট পরিবার হিসেবে খ্যাতি লাভ করে। তবে এই উত্তরণ সহজ ছিল না।

রাধামোহন শেঠ ছিলেন অত্যন্ত ধার্মিক এবং দানবীর ব্যক্তি। পণ্ডিত শ্রী শিবেন্দ্রনারায়ণ শাস্ত্রী মহাশয়ের লেখা “বাংলার পারিবারিক ইতিহাস, প্রথম খণ্ড” থেকে জানা যায় যে, জীবনের শেষলগ্নে এক ব্রাহ্মণের কাতর অনুরোধে তাঁর নেওয়া ঋণের মৌখিক জামিনদার হন রাধামোহন শেঠ মহাশয়। শেষমেষ সেই ব্রাহ্মণ সেই ঋণশোধ করতে না পারলে চন্দননগরের বোড় কৃষ্ণপুর নামক জায়গার পদ্মপুকুর পল্লীর পৈত্রিক বাসভবনটি বিক্রি করে (১৮১৬ সালে) সেই ঋণ পরিশোধ করেন তিনি। ফলস্বরূপ জীবনের শেষপ্রান্তে এসে রাধামোহন বাবু চরম অর্থকষ্টের মধ্যে পড়েন।

এই দারিদ্রের মধ্যেই বড় হয়েছিল রাধামোহনের ছেলে-মেয়েরা। রাধামোহনের পুত্র-কন্যারা হলেন - রামনারায়ণ শেঠ (মধ্যম পুত্র), শম্ভুচন্দ্র (কনিষ্ঠ পুত্র) এবং পদ্মমণি দেবী (জ্যেষ্ঠ কন্যা)। সংসারে জোয়াল কাঁধে এসে পরলে শম্ভুচন্দ্র কলকাতার এক সাধারণ তুলার দোকানে ৬৭ টাকা বেতনে কাজ শুরু করেন। সেই অর্থে প্রথাগত শিক্ষা তাঁর ছিল না। তবে সময় পাল্টালো যখন চন্দননগরের বারাসত নিবাসী অত্যন্ত বিত্তশালী ব্যবসায়ী কার্তিক প্রসাদ শ্রীমানীর কন্যা অন্নপূর্ণা দাসীর সাথে শম্ভুনাথের বিয়ে হল। বিয়ের পর শ্বশুরমশাই নতুন ব্যবসার সূচনা ও উন্নতির জন্য ১০০০ টাকা মূলধন দিয়ে শম্ভুচন্দ্র শেঠ মহাশয়কে সাহায্য করেন । সেই অর্থ দিয়েই তৎকালীন কলকাতার বড়বাজার অঞ্চলে ছোট করে লোহার ব্যবসা আরম্ভ করেন তিনি - স্থাপন করেন 'শম্ভুচন্দ্র শেঠ এণ্ড সন্স' (Sumbhoo Sett & Sons, Address: 18 Durmahatta St.)। ক্রমে ক্রমে সেই ব্যবসা মহীরুহে পরিণত হয় এবং তিনি হয়ে ওঠেন ইউরোপীয় ব্যবসায়ীদের সাথে লৌহ আমদানি-রপ্তানিকারী প্রথম বাঙালি। ফলত তৎকালীন যুগে লোহা, স্টিল ও হার্ডওয়ার সম্পর্কিত ব্যবসার পথপ্রদর্শক হয়ে ওঠেন তিনি। বাবার মত তিনিও ছিলেন ধর্মীয় এবং দানবীর এক চরিত্র।

বিয়ের ঠিক পরপরই শম্ভুচন্দ্র শেঠের শ্বশুরমশাই কার্তিক প্রসাদ শ্রীমানী তৎকালীন পালপাড়া অঞ্চলে একটি ভবন প্রদান করেন - কারণ তত দিনে বিক্রি হয়ে গেছে শেঠ-দের বসত বাড়ি। পালপাড়ার এই বাড়িটিতেই এখন শেঠ বংশের বর্তমান প্রজন্মের মানুষেরা বসবাস করেন। তবে অনেকের মতে শম্ভুচন্দ্র-ই এই বাড়িটি তৈরি করিয়েছিলেন। এই বাড়িতেই তিনি শুরু করেন দুর্গা, কালী, সরস্বতী পূজা, দোল পূর্ণিমার দিন রাধা-কৃষ্ণের পূজা। তবে এঁদের কুলদেবতা ছিলেন রুপোর তৈরি একটি ময়ূর। একসময়ে এই বাড়িতে ছিল ৮০টি তোতাপাখি ও ৪০টি ময়ূরের একটি চিড়িয়াখানা। এবং সেই সাথে বেশ কিছু দুর্লভ উদ্ভিদের একটি নার্সারিও ছিল। বাবার মতোই তিনিও দানধ্যান করতেন।

ব্যবসায়িক উন্নতির চরম শিখরে উঠলেও শম্ভুচন্দ্রের সাংসারিক জীবন কিন্তু খুব সুখের ছিল না - প্রথম স্ত্রী অন্নপূর্ণার গর্ভেই একটি পুত্রসন্তান মারা যায়, তিনিও অকালে মারা যান। এরপর শম্ভুচন্দ্র দ্বিতীয় বিয়ে করেন তারাসুন্দরী দাসীকে। কিন্তু সেই সুখও বেশিদিন পাননি তিনি। তারাসুন্দরীর পুত্র শ্যামলাল মারা যায় মাত্র ৭ বছর বয়সে, পুত্রশোকে তারাসুন্দরীও তার পরপর মারা যান। এরপর তৃতীয়বারের জন্য শম্ভুচন্দ্র চন্দননগরের বোড়ের বাসিন্দা জীবনচন্দ্র কুন্ডু মহাশয়ের কন্যা সূর্য্মণি ওরফে বিন্দুবাসিনী দাসীকে বিবাহ করেন। বার বার তিনবারের বার তাঁর সাংসারিক জীবন সার্থক হয়, সুখ-শান্তিতে ভরে ওঠে তাঁর সংসার। বিন্দুবাসিনী দাসীর গর্ভে একে একে জন্মগ্রহণ করেন (জ্যেষ্ঠ থেকে কনিষ্ঠ) – রমণীবালা, সৌরভ দাসী, গিরীন্দ্রনাথ, ফুলকুমারী, অক্ষয়কুমার, নৃত্যগোপাল, অঘোরচন্দ্র, রাজেন্দ্রনাথ ও অবিনাশচন্দ্র নামক ছয় পুত্র ও তিন কন্যা।

চলে আসি শম্ভুচন্দ্র-এর তৃতীয় পুত্র নৃত্যগোপালের কথায় আসি। এক্ষেত্রে বলা ভাল যে অনেকে নিত্যগোপাল বলে থাকলেও পণ্ডিত শিবেন্দ্রনারায়ণ শাস্ত্রীর 'বাঙ্গালার পারিবারিক ইতিহাস'-এ নৃত্যগোপাল-ই লেখা আছে। শম্ভুচন্দ্রের জ্যেষ্ঠপুত্র গিরীন্দ্রনাথ মাত্র চার বছর বয়সে এবং মধ্যমপুত্র অক্ষয়কুমার মাত্র ১৮ বছর বয়সে মারা যান, ফলে অনেকেই নৃত্যগোপালকে শম্ভুচন্দ্রের বড়ছেলে বলে জানেন। নৃত্যগোপালের জন্ম নিয়ে একটু মতবিরোধ আছে। 'বাঙ্গালার পারিবারিক ইতিহাস'-এ লেখা যে, তাঁর জন্ম বঙ্গাব্দ ১২৬৩ সালের ১২ পৌষ বা ২৬ পৌষ এবং সেই বছরে সিপাহী বিদ্রোহ হয়েছিল। এখন ১২ পৌষ হল ১৮৫৬ সালের ২৬শে ডিসেম্বর। সেই দিক থেকে দেখলে ২৬-শে পৌষ, ১২৬৩-কেই সঠিক বলে মনে হয়, কারণ সেই দিনটি হচ্ছে ইংরিজির ৯ই জানুয়ারি, ১৮৫৭।

নৃত্যগোপালের নয় বছর বয়স যখন তাঁর মা বিন্দুবাসিনী মারা যান, ফলে তিনি বড় হন পদ্মমণি পিসির কাছেই। প্রাথমিক শিক্ষা বাংলা স্কুলে হলেও পরে স্থানীয় গড়বাটির এক ইংরেজি মিডিয়াম স্কুলে ভর্তি হন। এদিকে তাঁর দাদা অক্ষয়কুমার উচ্চশিক্ষা লাভ করেও অকালে মারা যান। ফলে বয়স্ক বাবা শম্ভুচন্দ্র নৃত্যগোপালকে পঞ্চম বা ষষ্ঠ শ্রেণীর পরেই স্কুল ছাড়িয়ে দেন এবং পারিবারিক ব্যবসাতে যুক্ত করেন। তবে পড়াশুনা বেশি দূর না হলেও নৃত্যগোপাল ছিলেন প্রখর বুদ্ধিসম্পন্ন। মাত্র ১৬ বছর বয়সে তাঁর বিবাহ হয় বাঁশবেড়িয়ার খামারপাড়া গ্রামের ভুবনচাঁদ কুণ্ডুর মেয়ে সুশীলাবালার সাথে। কিন্তু ভাগ্যের পরিহাসে সুশীলাবালা এক বছরের মধ্যেই মারা যান, তখন কলকাতা চাঁপাতলার ব্রজকুমার নন্দীর তৃতীয়া কন্যা কৃষ্ণভাবিনী দাসীর সাথে তাঁর দ্বিতীয় বিবাহ হয়। এর পর-পরই সংসারে ভার সহ কলকাতার ব্যবসা এবং হাটখোলার অন্যান্য মোকামের ভার তাঁর কাঁধে এসে পড়ে। খুব তাড়াতাড়ি নৃত্যগোপাল ন্যায়নিষ্ঠ ব্যবসায়ী হিসেবে জনপ্রিয় হয়ে ওঠেন। দীনবন্ধু এবং অজাতশত্রু বলে তিনি পরিচিত ছিলেন। শম্ভুচন্দ্র যখন মারা যান তখন নৃত্যগোপালের বয়স মাত্র সাতাশ (১৮৮৪)।

কৃষ্ণভাবিনী এবং নৃত্যগোপালের ৫ সন্তান, তিন ছেলে - হরিহর, শিবরাম এবং দুর্গাদাস এবং দুই কন্যা - যোগমায়া ও আগমনী। ১৯১৪ সালের ২৪ মার্চ (বাংলার ১০ চৈত্র, ১৩২০) মাত্র ৫৭ বছর বয়সে রোগজনিত কারণে নৃত্যগোপালের মৃত্যু হয়। বিধবা হওয়ার পর কৃষ্ণভাবিনী দেবী ঘুরে বেড়াতেন তীর্থে তীর্থে, বেঁচে ছিলেন আরও ১৫ বছর (মৃত্যুঃ ১৩৩৫ সালের ৬ ফাল্গুন/ ১৯২৯ সালের ১৯ ফেব্রুয়ারি, কাশীধামে)।

নৃত্যগোপাল এবং কৃষ্ণভাবিনী দেবী নিজেরাও যেমন খুবই অনাড়ম্বর জীবনযাপন করতেন, ছেলেমেয়েদেরও সেই জীবন দর্শনে অভ্যস্ত হতে শিখিয়েছিলেন।

দানবীর, বিদ্যাবিনোদ, দেশশ্রী হরিহর শেঠের জন্ম ১৪ ডিসেম্বর, ১৮৭৮ সালে (বাংলার ১২৮৫ সাল, ২৮শে অগ্রহায়ণ, শুক্রবার, রাত ২ টোর সময়) শেঠেদের পালপাড়ার বাড়িতেই। তাঁর পড়াশুনা শুরু হয় চন্দননগরের সেন্ট মেরিস ইনষ্টিটিউটে, পরে হুগলী কলেজিয়েটে পড়াশুনা করেন। কলেজজীবন হুগলী কলেজে শুরু করলেও শেষ পর্যন্ত রিপন কলেজে (আজকের সুরেন্দ্রনাথ কলেজ) শিক্ষালাভ শেষ করেন। পড়াশুনা শেষে বাড়ির বড়ছেলে হিসেবে পারিবারিক লোহার ব্যবসায় ঢুকে পড়েন। বাবা এবং ঠাকুরদার মতোই হরিহরের ব্যবসাজ্ঞান ছিল তুখোর, কয়েকদিনের মধ্যেই কলকাতার লোহা ব্যবসায়ী সমিতির সভাপতি হন। যতদিন তিনি এই ব্যবসায় ছিলেন ততদিন অবধিই তিনি এই সমিতির সভাপতি পদে স্থিতু ছিলেন। পরে হরিহর সোনা-রুপোর ব্যবসা এবং কলকাতার জমি কেনা-বিক্রি ব্যবসাও শুরু করেন। তবে সোনা-রুপোর ব্যবসায় সফল হলেও জমিজমার ব্যবসায় বেশ আর্থিক ক্ষতিগ্রস্থ হন। পৌঢ় বয়সে তিনি ব্যবসার কাজ থেকে অব্যহতি নেন এবং সামাজিক কাজকর্মেই বেশি মনোযোগ দেন।

তৎকালীন শিক্ষিত বঙ্গসমাজে হরিহর শেঠের বিশেষ পরিচয় ছিল। 'প্রবাসী', 'ভারতবর্ষ', 'মাসিক বসুমতী' 'বঙ্গবাণী', 'ভারতী', 'বিচিত্রা', 'প্রদীপ' প্রভৃতি পত্র-পত্রিকায় নিয়মিত লিখতেন। তিনি বঙ্গীয় সাহিত্য পরিষদের আজীবন সদস্য এবং চন্দননগরের জাহ্নবী আবাসে (বর্তমানে রবীন্দ্র ভবন) ১৯৩৭ খ্রিস্টাব্দে অনুষ্ঠিত বিংশতি বঙ্গীয় সাহিত্য সম্মেলনের প্রধান সংগঠক ছিলেন। এই সম্মেলনের সভাপতি ছিলেন স্বয়ং রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর এবং অনুষ্ঠানে কবিগুরু এক নাতিদীর্ঘ বক্তৃতা দেন। চন্দননগর মিউজিয়ামে এই অনুষ্ঠানের ছবি-সহ বিস্তারিত বিবরণী, প্রেস রিলিজ ইত্যাদি সযত্নে রক্ষিত আছে। গুরুদেবের সাথে হরিহরের চিঠিতে যোগাযোগ ছিল বেশ গভীরে।

লিখেছিলেন ‘প্রাচীন কলকাতা পরিচয়’, যার একটি লাইন সেই সময়ে লোকের মুখে মুখে ঘুরত - ‘জাল জুয়াচুরি মিথ্যে কথা/ এই তিন নিয়ে কলকাতা।’ এছাড়াও লিখেছিলেন 'সংক্ষিপ্ত চন্দননগর পরিচয়', 'মুক্তিসংগ্রামে চন্দননগর', 'অভিশাপ', 'ঘরের কথা', 'প্রতিভা', 'স্রোতের ঢেউ', 'অমৃত গরল', 'পুরাতনী'। তাঁর 'সংক্ষিপ্ত চন্দননগর পরিচয়'-এ সমসাময়িক ফরাসি উপনিবেশের সামাজিক ও সাংস্কৃতিক বিবরণ পাওয়া যায়।

সুধীর কুমার মিত্রের 'হুগলী জেলার ইতিহাস ও বঙ্গ সমাজ' লেখার পিছনেও হরিহর শেঠের ভূমিকা ছিল। সেকথা এই বইটির প্রথম ভাগের প্রথম সংস্করণের ভূমিকায় সুধীরবাবু স্বীকারও করেছেন। হরিহরবাবু পত্রযোগে সুধীরবাবুকে যথেষ্ট সাহস ও উৎসাহ দিয়েছিলেন।

সাহিত্য ও ইতিহাস চর্চা ছাড়াও চন্দননগরের সামাজিক ক্ষেত্রে হরিহরের অবদান অনস্বীকার্য। ১৯২৬ সালের ২৬শে জুন চন্দননগরের প্রথম উচ্চ বালিকা বিদ্যালয় স্থাপন করেন হরিহর শেঠ। মায়ের স্মৃতিতে নাম দেন কৃষ্ণভাবিনী নারী শিক্ষা মন্দির। ফরাসী সরকারের থেকে অনুমতি নেওয়া থেকে শুরু করে বিভিন্ন বাধা টপকে এই বিদ্যালয়ের সূচনা করেন হরিহরবাবু। সেই সময় বাংলার প্রেসিডেন্সি ডিভিশনের প্রথম ইংরেজি মাধ্যম উচ্চ মাধ্যমিক স্তরের বালিকা বিদ্যালয়ও এটি। উদ্বোধনের দিন এসেছিলেন সরলা দেবী চৌধুরাণী - তৎকালীন নারী উন্নয়নের প্রখ্যাত মুখ এবং কবিগুরু রবীন্দ্রনাথের ভাগ্নী।

Rabindranath Tagore in Krishna Bhabini Nari Sikhsha Mandir, Chandannagar in 1927
Source: Website of KBNSM, restored with Google Gemini

পরে ১৯২৭ সালের ৫-মে (২১শে বৈশাখ, ১৩৩৪ বঙ্গাব্দ) কবিগুরু চন্দননগর এসেছিলেন অক্ষয় তৃতীয়ার উৎসবে প্রবর্তক সংঘের আমন্ত্রণে - সেখানে "বেলা গেল তোমার পথ চেয়ে" গানটি রচনা ও পরিবেশন করেছিলেন। তারপর এই বিদ্যালয়েও আসেন এবং ছাত্রীদের আশীর্বাদ দেন, দক্ষিণের বারান্দায় বসে লিখে ফেলেন, 'বসন্ত যে লেখা লেখে বনে বনান্তরে, নামুক তাহারি মন্ত্র লেখনীর পরে'। পরবর্তীকালে এই বিদ্যালয়ে পদধূলি পড়েছে প্রতিমা দেবী, ইন্দিরা দেবী চৌধুরাণী, কামিনী রায়, আশাপূর্ণা দেবী প্রমুখের।

আজকে কৃষ্ণ ভাবিনী নারী শিক্ষা মন্দির (২০২৬)

প্রথম চার বছর এই বিদ্যালয়ের খরচাখরচ একাই টানতেন হরিহর শেঠ। শোনা যায় এই বিদ্যালয়ের খরচভার খাতে তাঁর খরচ হয়েছিল প্রায় দুই লক্ষ টাকা। ১৯৩১ সালে তৈরি হয় বিদ্যালয়ের Managing Committee (পরিচালনা পর্ষদ), এবং এখানকার ছাত্রীরা ম্যাট্রিকুলেশন পরীক্ষা দেওয়ার জন্য কলকাতা বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ের থেকে অনুমতি পায়। পরে ছাত্রী সংখ্যা বাড়লে চন্দননগর পৌরসভা থেকে আরো জমির ব্যবস্থা করা হয়, স্থাপিত হয় তারক দাসী নারী কল্যাণ সদন (১৯৩৩) যা বর্তমানে ছাত্রীদের হোস্টেল। তারক দাসী নারী কল্যাণ সদন উদ্বোধন করেছিলেন ফরাসী ভারতের গর্ভনরের স্ত্রী Madame Juvern। এখানে সেই সময়ে সন্তান লালন-পালন, আত্মীয়স্বজনের রোগ পরিচর্যার জন্য ধাত্রী বিদ্যা এবং চিকিৎসাবিজ্ঞানের প্রাথমিক শিক্ষাদান করা হত।

এই বালিকা বিদ্যালয়ের শিক্ষাগত উৎকর্ষের এক ঐতিহ্যের সূচনা হয় ১৯৩২ সালে, যখন দুই ছাত্রী ম্যাট্রিকুলেশন পরীক্ষায় প্রথম বিভাগে উত্তীর্ণ হয়। ১৯৪৩ সালে পরিচালনা পর্ষদের গৃহীত একটি সিদ্ধান্তের প্রেক্ষিতে বিদ্যালয়টি ফরাসি সরকারের অধীনে একটি সরকারি বিদ্যালয়ে পরিণত হয়। যখন চন্দননগর ভারতের অন্তভুক্ত হয় তখন এই বিদ্যালয়টি পশ্চিমবঙ্গ সরকারের শিক্ষা দপ্তরের অধীনে আসে। বর্তমানে এটি একটি সরকারি সাহায্য-প্রাপ্ত বিদ্যালয়।

মাত্র ৫ জন শিক্ষিকা এবং ৩১ জন ছাত্রী নিয়ে শুরু এই বিদ্যালয় ১০০ বছর পেরেলো, ছাত্রী সংখ্যা এখন দেড় হাজারেরও বেশি। ২০১৬ সালে পশ্চিমবঙ্গ সরকারের শিক্ষা দপ্তর থেকে ভূষিত হয়েছে জেলার সেরা বিদ্যালয় হিসেবে। ২০১৯ সালের আগষ্ট মাসে এই বিদ্যালয়ের মূলভবনটি হেরিটেজ স্থাপত্যের তকমা পায় পশ্চিমবঙ্গ হেরিটেজ কমিশনের থেকে।

এছাড়া বাবার নামে নৃত্যগোপাল শেঠ প্রাথমিক বিদ্যালয় (১৯২২) এবং কাকার নামে অঘোরচন্দ্র শেঠ অবৈতনিক প্রাথমিক বিদ্যালয় (১৯২৫) - দুটি প্রাথমিক বিদ্যালয় তিনি স্থাপন করেন। ১৩২৮ সালে (ইং ১৯২১-২২) তিনি এবং কালীপ্রসন্ন বসু, মাণিকলাল বড়াল, মহেন্দ্রনাথ গুপ্ত, প্রিয়নাথ দত্ত সবাই মিলে স্থাপন করেন 'পালপাড়া সুহৃদ সমিতি'। শিক্ষার প্রসার ছাড়াও দুঃস্থ ব্যক্তিদের সাহায্য ইত্যাদি ছিল এই সমিতির কার্যকলাপের অন্তর্ভুক্ত। এই সমিতি একটি ছেলেদের এবং একটি মেয়েদের পাঠশালা চালাত এবং এর অধীনে বালক ও কিশোরদের সান্ধ্য পাঠাগার - 'পালপাড়া বালক সম্মীলন' পরিচালিত হত।

বাবা নিত্যগোপালের নামে স্থাপন করেন এক থিয়েটার হল সহ গ্রন্থাগার - নিত্যগোপাল স্মৃতি মন্দির এবং চন্দননগর পুস্তকাগার। চন্দননগরের বাগবাজারে গ্র্যাণ্ড ট্যাঙ্ক রোডের উপর এই প্রসাদপম বাড়িটিকে মিস করা মুশকিল।

নিত্যগোপাল স্মৃতি মন্দির এবং চন্দননগর পুস্তকাগার

চন্দননগরের সবচেয়ে পুরনো এবং বৃহত্তম গ্রন্থাগার এই চন্দননগর পুস্তকাগার। এর ইতিহাস শুরু হয় ১৮৭৩ সালে। যদুনাথ পালিত, মহেন্দ্রনাথ নন্দী, মতিলাল শেঠ প্রমুখ মিলে এক শখের থিয়েটার উদ্যোগ গড়ে ওঠে এবং প্রণয়পরীক্ষা নামে একটি নাটক অভিনীতও হয়। যাই হোক এই নাটকের ভূত নামলে নাটকের সরঞ্জাম ইত্যাদি বিক্রি করে অর্থ সংগ্রহ হয় এবং ত্রিগুণাচরণ পালিত, হরিমোহন সুর প্রমুখের সাহায্যে এই গ্রন্থাগার এবং থিয়েটার ক্লাব চলতে থাকে। তবে টাকা পয়সার সমস্যার জন্য বারবার এর ঠিকানা বদলাতে হচ্ছিল। শেষে মুসকিল আসান হিসেবে এলেন হরিহর শেঠ। তাঁর বাবা নৃত্যগোপাল মৃত্যুর আগে শহরের উন্নতিকল্পে পঞ্চাশ হাজার টাকা রেখে গেছিলেন। বাগবাজারে শেঠদের অর্থসাহায্যে ১৯১৫ থেকে ১৯২০-এর মধ্যে তৈরি হল 'নিত্যগোপাল স্মৃতি মন্দির এবং চন্দননগর পুস্তকাগার'।

ঐতিহ্য ও ঔপনিবেশিক স্থাপত্যের এক অনন্য মেলবন্ধন এই বিশাল উত্তরমুখী ইটের ভবনটি। এর চমৎকার গম্বুজ, ইউরোপীয় নব্য-ধ্রুপদী ঘরানার সুউচ্চ করিন্থিয়ান স্তম্ভ এবং হিন্দু রীতির সূক্ষ্ম নকশা এক রাজকীয় আবহ তৈরি করেছে। খিলান ও পিলাস্টারের সুশৃঙ্খল বিন্যাসে সাজানো এর বাইরের অংশ; যেখানে সম্মুখভাগে রয়েছে বিশেষ স্তম্ভের নকশা এবং দুই পাশে চারটি খিলানযুক্ত জানালা। ভবনের ভেতরে পা রাখলেই চোখে পড়ে চমৎকার কারুকার্যে ঘেরা একটি বিশাল হলরুম, যা মূলত সামাজিক সমাবেশের জন্য নির্মিত। এই হলরুমে প্রায় ৭৫০ জনের বসার জায়গা আছে। এছাড়াও একটি বড় ঘর আছে যেটি আসলে বিদেশী ছাত্রদের ডর্মিটরি। শ্রী সুরেন্দ্রনাথ বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায় ভবনটির উদ্বোধন করেন এবং মহামহোপাধ্যায় হরপ্রসাদ শাস্ত্রী অনুষ্ঠানটিতে সভাপতিত্ব করেন। এক সময়ে এই হলঘরে এসেছেন এবং বক্তৃতা করে গেছেন বিশ্বকবি রবীন্দ্রনাথ। সেই সময়ে চন্দননগরের যাবতীয় প্রতিষ্ঠানের বাৎসরিক অধিবেশন অনুষ্ঠিত হত এখানেই।

সাহিত্যচর্চা এবং শিক্ষাবিস্তার ছাড়াও চন্দননগরের বহুকাজে হরিহর ছিলেন একাই একশো। ১৯১৯ সালে চালের দাম বাড়লে তিনি প্রতিষ্ঠা করেন 'চাল-সরবরাহ সমিতি'। ১৯১৮ সালে শহরে ইনফুয়েঞ্জা রোগের প্রকোপ বাড়লে তাঁর উদ্যোগে গঠিত হয় 'চন্দননগর মেডিক্যাল-রিলিফ কমিটি'। তাঁর উদ্যোগে শহরের উত্তর, দক্ষিণ এবং কেন্দ্রে 'শম্ভুচন্দ্র সেবাশ্রম' নামে তিনটি দাতব্য চিকিৎসালয় গড়ে ওঠে। শেষ অবধি অবশ্য এগুলি স্থায়ীভাবে অনুমতি পায়নি, ফলে শহরের কেন্দ্রের শাখাটি ছাড়া বাকিগুলি উঠে যায়। শেষ অবধি এই চিকিৎসালয়টিও অতিথি ভবন-এ পরিণত হয় এবং পৌরসভার অধীনে যায়। এছাড়াও বিভিন্ন সংগঠনে তিনি অবৈতনিক সম্পাদক ছিলেন - যেমন চন্দননগর স্পোর্টিং ক্লাব, তিলিজাতি হিতৈষী সভা, দশভূজা সাহিত্য মন্দির, গড়বাটি H.E. School, বঙ্গীয় তিলিজাতি সম্মিলনী, হুগলী জেলা ঐতিহাসিক অনুসন্ধান সমিতি, হুগলী কলেজিয়েট স্কুলের রিইউনিয়ন কমিটি (সহপাঠী সমিতি) প্রভৃতি।

ফ্রান্স সরকার অবশ্য হরিহর শেঠের এই সামাজিক উদ্যোগকে ১৯৪৭ সালে স্বাধীনতার অনেক আগেই কুর্ণিশ জানিয়েছিল। ১৯৩৪ সালেই ফরাসি সরকার হরিহর শেঠকে ফ্রান্সের সর্বোচ্চ বেসামরিক সম্মান - Che’valier de Legion d’honneur দিয়ে ভূষিত করে। পরবর্তী সময়ে শিক্ষা ও সমাজে তাঁর গভীর প্রভাবের স্বীকৃতিস্বরূপ তিনি ‘Officier de l’Instruction Publique' এবং ‘Officier d’Académie' উপাধিতেও ভূষিত হন। এর ফলে শুধু স্থানীয় নয়, আন্তর্জাতিক পরিমণ্ডলেও হরিহর শেঠ হয়ে ওঠেন এক সুপরিচিত ব্যক্তিত্ব। এবং তিনি হয়ে ওঠেন ফরাসি ঔপনিবেশিক কর্তৃপক্ষ ও ভারতীয় জনগোষ্ঠীর মধ্যে এক সেতুবন্ধন।

১৯৪৭ সালের ১৫-ই আগষ্ট ভারতবর্ষ স্বাধীন হলেও ফরাসি কর্তৃপক্ষ ভারতের মাটি ছেড়ে যায়নি। চন্দননগরের স্বাধীনতার পথে হরিহর এক গুরুত্বপূর্ণ ভূমিকা পালন করেছিলেন। তাঁর নেতৃত্বে যে জাতীয়তাবাদী আন্দোলন গড়ে ওঠে, তার চূড়ান্ত পরিণতি ঘটেছিল ১৯৪৯ সালের ১৯ জুন অনুষ্ঠিত ঐতিহাসিক গণভোটের মাধ্যমে এবং এর ফলেই চন্দননগরে ফরাসি শাসনের অবসান ঘটে। ১৯৪৭ সালের ২৭ নভেম্বর ফরাসি সরকার চন্দননগরকে ‘মুক্ত শহর’ (Ville Libre) হিসেবে ঘোষণা করে। ফরাসিরা চলে যাওয়ার পর, হরিহর নবগঠিত 'অ্যাডমিনিস্ট্রেটিভ কাউন্সিল' বা প্রশাসনিক পরিষদের প্রথম সভাপতি হন; এটিই ছিল চন্দননগরের জনগণের জন্য গঠিত প্রথম প্রকৃত প্রতিনিধিত্বমূলক সংস্থা। এই দায়িত্বে থাকাকালীন তিনি ব্যাপক সংস্কার সাধন করেন, যার মধ্যে ছিল নিপীড়নমূলক 'হেড ট্যাক্স' (মাথাপিছু কর) ও সাইকেল কর বাতিল এবং ভাড়া সংক্রান্ত আইন বা 'রেন্টাল অ্যাক্ট'-এর পুনর্গঠন। এছাড়াও তিনি শিক্ষা ব্যবস্থায় সংস্কারের উদ্যোগ নেন এবং ১লা জানুয়ারি ১৯৪৮ থেকে কার্যকর হওয়ার মতো করে তা নতুনভাবে সাজিয়ে তোলেন। স্থানীয় প্রশাসনের এই পর্বটি ১৯৫০ সালের ২রা মে পর্যন্ত চালু ছিল; ওই দিনই চন্দননগর আনুষ্ঠানিকভাবে ভারতীয় ইউনিয়নের অন্তর্ভুক্ত হয়।

চন্দননগর মিউজিয়ম গঠনেও তাঁর গুরুত্বপূর্ণ ভূমিকা ছিল। মিউজিয়ামের প্রায় ৮০ শতাংশ সংগ্রহ হরিহর শেঠেরই করা। এর মধ্যে অষ্টম শতকের বুদ্ধমূর্তি এক অমূল্য সংগ্রহ।

হরিহর শেঠের ভাই দুর্গাদাস শেঠ (জন্ম ২০ সেপ্টেম্বর, ১৮৯৫ - মৃত্যু ২০ জুলাই ১৯৫৮) ছিলেন ভারতীয় উপমহাদেশের ব্রিটিশ বিরোধী স্বাধীনতা আন্দোলনের একজন অন্যতম ব্যক্তিত্ব এবং অগ্নিযুগের বাঙালি বিপ্লবী।

Durgadas Sett

১৯০৫ সালে বঙ্গভঙ্গের পরে দুর্গাদাস লক্ষ্মীগঞ্জ বাজারে 'শিল্প সমবায়' নামে একটি ছোট দোকান প্রতিষ্ঠা করেছিলেন, যেখানে তিনি দেশীয় হস্তশিল্প, তাঁতের কাপড়, খাদি, দেশীয় ওষুধ এবং প্রসাধনী বিক্রি করতেন। এই প্রতিষ্ঠান থেকে প্রাপ্ত আয় সুবিধাবঞ্চিত শিক্ষার্থীদের শিক্ষার জন্য পরিচালিত হয়েছিল। কালীচরণ ঘোষ, তিনকড়ি মুখোপাধ্যায়, সুরেন্দ্রনাথ মুখোপাধ্যায়, সন্তোষ নন্দী, আনন্দ পাল প্রমুখ তাঁকে সাহায্য করেছিলেন। এই শিল্প সমবায়ের থেকে লাভের টাকাপয়সা মূলত স্বাধীনতা সংগ্রামের বিভিন্ন কাজে খরচ হত। উল্লেখযোগ্য হল তিনি এই ফাণ্ড থেকে দশহাজার টাকা নিয়ে দিয়েছিলেন অরবিন্দকে, পরে পাঁচ হাজার টাকা নিয়ে বিপ্লবী শ্ৰীশচন্দ্ৰ ঘোয়ের নামে ‘শ্ৰীশ ফান্ড’ প্ৰতিষ্ঠা করে তা ট্রাস্টির হাতে দেন।

দুর্গাদাস 'স্বদেশী বাজার' নামে একটি সাপ্তাহিক পত্রিকাও চালু করেন যেখানে তিনি আধ্যাত্মিক, ধর্মীয় ও বিপ্লবী নিবন্ধগুলির পাশাপাশি বিভিন্ন দেশের মুক্তিযোদ্ধাদের জীবন ও ইতিহাস প্রকাশ করেছিলেন। ব্রিটিশ সরকার রাষ্ট্রদ্রোহিতার মিথ্যা অভিযোগে দুর্গাদাসকে আলিপুর কেন্দ্রীয় কারাগারে বন্দী করে। কারাগারে থাকাকালীন তিনি যতীন্দ্রমোহন সেনগুপ্ত এবং সুভাষচন্দ্র বসুর মতো উল্লেখযোগ্য রাজনৈতিক নেতাদের সংস্পর্শে আসেন। শেষের দিকে পৈতৃক সম্পত্তি থেকে প্ৰাপ্ত এক লক্ষ টাকা পণ্ডিচেরী আশ্রমে দান করে তিনি শ্ৰীঅরবিন্দের কাছে আত্মসমর্পণ-যোগ গ্রহণ করেছিলেন। গুরুদক্ষিণা দিয়ে প্রায় নিঃস্ব অবস্থায় কলিকাতায় বিজয়কৃষ্ণ চট্টোপাধ্যায়ের আশ্রয়ে থাকতেন।

দেশশ্রী হরিহর শেঠের বাড়ি - 2018 সালে পশ্চিমবঙ্গ হেরিটেজ কমিশন এটিকে একটি হেরিটেক সম্পত্তি হিসেবে চিহ্নিত করে।

হরিহর শেঠের এই বাড়ির ইতিহাস আগেই বলেছি। হরিহরের ঠাকুরদা শম্ভুচন্দ্রের শ্বশুরমশাই এই পালপাড়ার বাড়িটি দিয়েছিলেন। বাড়িটি প্রথমে দ্বিতল ছিল। পরে হরিহর শেঠ বাড়িটিকে বিস্তৃত করে নতুন অংশে তিনতলা যুক্ত করেন।

এই বাড়িটিতে দুর্গাপুজো শুরু হয় শম্ভুচন্দ্রের আমলেই। আজও এই পুজো নিষ্ঠা সহকারে করে চলেছেন শেঠ পরিবারের সদস্যরা। এই দুর্গাপুজো দেখতে শেঠবাড়ি এসেছেন শরৎচন্দ্র চট্ট্যোপাধ্যায়, আচার্য প্রফুল্ল চন্দ্র রায়, জগদীশ চন্দ্র বসু। তবে এই দুর্গাদালান অন্য সময়ে অন্য ভূমিকা নিত। এই দুর্গাদালানে বাড়ির মহিলারা বিপ্লবীদের জন্য খাবার রেখে আসতেন। তাঁরা তাঁদের সুবিধামত এসে এই খাবার খেয়ে যেতেন।

সাবেকি মতে ডাকের সাজে মায়ের স্নিগ্ধ মূর্তি এই পুজোর বৈশিষ্ট্য। পুজোর উপকরণ জোগাড় করা এবং নৈবেদ্য সাজানো সবই করেন বাড়ির মহিলারা। হরিহর শেঠের বংশধর গৌতম শেঠ জানান, তৎকালীন সমাজে পর্দাপ্রথা ছিলো বাড়ির মহিলাদের। তাই অনেক কিছু বিধি-নিষেধ ছিল। হরিহর শেঠ ছিলেন মুক্ত মনের মানুষ। তিনি ঠিক করেছিলেন বাড়ির মহিলারাই থাকবেন এই দুর্গাপুজোর পুরোভাগে। তারপর থেকে পুজোর আচার আয়োজন বাড়ির মহিলারা করতেন। সিঁদুর খেলার জন্যও বিখ্যাত এই পুজো। অষ্টমীতে হত বিভিন্ন সাংস্কৃতিক অনুষ্ঠান। রেওয়াজ ছিল বিসর্জনের দিন জেলেরা এসে মাকে কাঁধে করে নিয়ে গিয়ে গঙ্গায় বিসর্জন দেবেন। তবে একালে আর ওই নিয়ম চলে না, স্থানীয় লোকেরাই কাঁধে করে নিয়ে গিয়ে প্রতিমা নিরঞ্জন করেন।

হরিহর শেঠের পরবর্তী প্রজন্মঃ

হরিহরের পুত্র ছিলেন মনোরঞ্জন। তাঁর সাথে বিয়ে হয় চন্দননগরের হাটখোলার বাসিন্দা সত্যচরণ নন্দীর কন্যা দুর্গাবতীর সাথে। মনোরঞ্জন-দুর্গাবতীর দুই পুত্র - উমানাথ এবং শিখরনাথ।

তথ্যসূত্রঃ

https://klvmcgr.co.in/sri-harihar-sett/

https://heritagechandernagoreblog.wordpress.com/2016/01/19/the-chronicles-of-the-sett-family-of-chandernagore/

https://debdeepg.wordpress.com/2024/11/14/harihar-seth-a-businessman-a-litterateur-a-philanthropist/

https://bn.wikipedia.org/wiki/হরিহর_শেঠ

https://bn.wikipedia.org/wiki/দুর্গাদাস_শেঠ

https://krishnabhabininarisikshamandir.com/history/
https://krishnabhabininarisikshamandir.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/april-2022_compressed.pdf

https://www.anandabazar.com/rabibashoriyo/bengali-tradition-of-scam/cid/1290737
https://kulayefera.com/পার্বণী-১৪২৯/শম্ভুচন্দ্র-শেঠ-অনির্বা/

https://eisamay.com/retrospective/article-on-durgacharan-rakkhit-harihar-sheth-and-satyendra-ghosh-by-arup-ganguly/49351466.cms

Discover Chandannagar by Dr. Ajit Kumar Mukhopadhyay & Kalyan Chakraborty (1999) - https://www.scribd.com/document/325310014/Discover-Chandernagore

https://www.itihasadda.in/chandannagar/

https://sahityika.in/2023/10/14/চন্দননগর-একদিনের-ছুটিতে/

https://bangla.asianetnews.com/life/know-about-the-untold-facts-of-the-durga-puja-of-harihar-seth-s-house-in-chandannagar-bdd-qi6pi1/articleshow-2g42z5

পণ্ডিত শ্রীশিবেন্দ্রনারায়ণ শাস্ত্রীর বাঙ্গালার পারিবারিক ইতিহাস - প্রথম খণ্ড-হুগলী জেলা

সুধীরকুমার মিত্র-র হুগলী জেলার ইতিহাস (তৃতীয় খণ্ড)

NavIC - the Indian GPS Goes Limited, Needs New Satellites Soon

2026-08-01T02:34:00.000+05:30

NavIC (Navigation with Indian Constellation) or IRNSS (Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System) has got a major setback, as it's services have became limited. In a written reply in the Lok Sabha, Union Minister of State for Space Dr Jitendra Singh said only three satellites in the NavIC constellation are presently capable of providing Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) services.

To provide basic positioning service, a minimum of 4 operational satellites are required in orbit. Hence, the NavIC constellation with 3 active satellites cannot provide standalone positioning service; however, timing service is functional.

However Indian government said users are not facing operational vulnerabilities because NavIC is now used alongside other global satellite navigation systems in a multi-constellation Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) environment as receivers to combine signals from GPS, Galileo, GLONASS and NavIC for navigation.

After being rejected for requesting GPS data by America (USA) during Kargil war in 1999, India commissioned IRNSS in May of 2006 with an initial cost of $174 million.

Primary Drivers for the Project

Strategic Sovereignty: India needed an un-jammable, independent navigation system for its military, missiles, and aircraft during geopolitical conflicts.
Guaranteed Reliability: Foreign GPS providers can degrade or turn off their signals over specific regions during a crisis, a risk India could no longer accept.
National Security: The system provides encrypted, high-precision data reserved exclusively for the Indian Armed Forces and strategic government agencies.

In fact real significance of NavIC was celebrated during the May 2025 cross-border counter-terror operations (code name: Operation Sindoor) following the Pahalgam attack, NavIC provided the Indian Armed Forces (Army & Air Force) with high-precision geolocation data to execute surgical strikes deep inside hostile territory.

The first satellite, IRNSS-1A was launched on 1st July, 2013. During 2013-2018 ISRO has launched 8 satellites to space, last one IRNSS-1I replaced IRNSS-1A. In April 2016 constellation was completed and named NavIC by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. But the system became operational for public and strategic use in 2018. India's regional satellite navigation covers across the entire Indian landmass plus a primary service area extending 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) beyond India's official land boundaries.

Extended Coverage of NavIC - reaches further out between the primary boundary and a wider region stretching from latitude 30° South to 50° North and longitude 30° East to 130° East, where signals remain visible but with varying continuous compute accuracy.

In Phase I of NavIC, out of 9 launched satnav satellites, 8 went to their orbits – that’s huge success (88.88%) for Indian space agency - ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation).

NavIC - Phase I Satellites:

Satellites (All have 10-year design mission life)	Launch Date	Launch Vehicle	Present Status
IRNSS-1A	2013-07-01	PSLV-XL-C22	Launch was successful. Rubidium atomic clocks (supplied by Swiss company SpectraTime) failed – first failure found in July 2016. By January 2017 all three clocks failed – rendering its navigation and positioning capabilities non-functional. Being used for one-way short message broadcast messaging and emergency societal alerts.
IRNSS-1B	2014-04-04	PSLV-XL-C24	Launch was successful. Operational.
IRNSS-1C	2014-10-16	PSLV-XL-C26	Launch was successful. Atomic clocks failed. Being used for one-way short message broadcast messaging and emergency societal alerts.
IRNSS-1D	2015-03-28	PSLV-XL-C27	Launch was successful. Decommissioned after life span of 10 years in July 2025.
IRNSS-1E	2016-01-20	PSLV-XL-C31	Launch was successful. Atomic clocks failed. Being used for one-way short message broadcast messaging and emergency societal alerts.
IRNSS-1F	2016-03-10	PSLV-XL-C32	Launch was successful. Atomic clocks failed. Being used for one-way short message broadcast messaging and emergency societal alerts.
IRNSS-1G	2016-04-28	PSLV-XL-C33	Launch was successful. Replaced by NVS-01. Being used for one-way short message broadcast messaging and emergency societal alerts.
IRNSS-1H	2017-08-31	PSLV-XL-C39	Planned to replace IRNSS-1A. Launch was failed as payload fairing failed to separate and satellite could not reach the desired orbit.
IRNSS-1I	2018-04-12	PSLV-XL-C41	Launch was successful. Operational – replaced IRNSS-1A.

Differences from other satnav systems:

ISRO made NavIC to use L5 and S1 frequency while others (GPS, Galileo, GLONASS, BeiDou) uses L1 mostly (and L5 too). Thus NavIC is not supported by older devices (which supports mostly L1 band).

NavIC was specifically custom-tailored by ISRO to cover the Indian subcontinent and up to 1,500 km beyond its borders, it incorporates design choices that outperform global systems when used within its target footprint. NavIC provides superior localized accuracy, reliability, and precision over India and the surrounding South Asian region.

NavIC transmits simultaneously over dual frequencies (L5 and a unique S-band). By measuring the live difference in delay between these two distinct bands, a NavIC receiver calculates the exact atmospheric error in real-time without relying on predictive models, yielding superior positioning accuracy (under 5 metres vs. GPS's 5–20 metres).

NavIC places its constellation in Geostationary (GEO) and Geosynchronous (GSO) orbits fixed over the Indian subcontinent. Because these satellites move at the exact speed of Earth’s rotation, they appear stationary from the ground. They are permanently visible to the receiver at all times, making them exceptionally stable. NavIC's dedicated S-band frequency is highly resistant to this urban reflection, allowing quick, reliable mapping in narrow streets and also in thick forests, plantations, or tree-lined roads.

Tech Glitches Hit NavIC

In all phase I of NavIC satellites ISRO equipped three Rubidium Atomic Frequency Standard (RAFS) clocks (one primary and two backups), supplied by SpectraTime, a specialized precision clock manufacturer based in Neuchâtel, Switzerland (now a subsidiary of the French aerospace and defense group Safran). Since July 2016, when IRNSS-1A’s clocks failed, SpectraTime-supplied clocks on European Space Agency's (ESA) Galileo navigation system also faced similar technical issues. In 2021 Galileo opted Orolia to supply atomic clocks for their second generation satellites.

ISRO traced the malfunction to a technical glitch in a feed-through capacitor that carried the DC power supply to the clock’s physics package, which failed due to excessive temperature spikes.

With all 3 clocks failed, a satellite lost its ability to assist in Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) calculation. However, ISRO did not completely retire the satellites; instead, they were repurposed to provide one-way broadcast messaging and emergency societal alerts. ISRO attempted to replace the IRNSS-1A with IRNSS-1H, but the mission failed to insert the satellite into the desired orbit.

Phase II of NavIC - NVS Series of Satellites

Subsequently, ISRO began to rebuild the core 7-satellite constellation and restore complete strategic independence. ISRO has transitioned entirely to indigenous rubidium atomic clocks developed at the Space Applications Centre (SAC) in Ahmedabad for phase 2 of NavIC with NVS series of satellites. Thus ISRO removed supply chain bottlenecks, high import costs, and export control regulations for atomic clocks.

There is an indigenous ACMU (Atomic Clock Monitoring Unit) subsystem which acts as the "brain" of the navigation payload by generating a 10.23 MHz Master Timing Reference. It features a built-in phase meter and fine-tuning steps that can automatically detect and correct frequency drifts in real time without degrading performance (frequency stability - Ultra-high (~5 × 10⁻¹² at 1 sec, dropping to 5 × 10⁻¹⁴ over 10k sec); frequency drifts - less than 5 × 10⁻¹³ per day). Bypassing these thermal and electrical vulnerabilities allowed ISRO to extend the mission life of the NVS generation from 10 years to 12 years.

On 29th May, 2023 ISRO sent NVS-01 to orbit - this satellite also supports band L1 for low power devices. On 29th January 2025, ISRO attempted to sent NVS-02 to replace IRNSS-1E but suffered from a propulsion system failure.

NavIC Satellites, as seen by GPSTest app on Android - 1B, 1C, 1F, 1I and NVS-01 are connected. (November 2023)

Experts believe ISRO and the government have been distracted by missions such as Gaganyaan and the Axiom Mission 4, which involved Shubhanshu Shukla going to the International Space Station — the first Indian to do so.

Back in July 2025, in a response to RTI, Govt. of India informed that only 4 satellites of NavIC are providing core PNT (position, navigation & timing) services. Of these 4, 1 has completed end of planned life (1B) and 1 has partial equipment failure (1F). Other two are: 1I and NVS-01. [1B = 02, 1F = 06, 1I = 09, NVS-01 = 10]

But on 13th March 2026, when the final working atomic clock on IRNSS-1F gave out, dropping the NavIC fleet below the 4 active satellites required to provide navigation services. At present the three active NavIC satellites are: 1B, 1I, NVS-01 (ID: 02, 09, 10).

ISRO has plans to launch next satellites soon to re-complete NavIC constellation. NVS-03 is expected to go into orbit by September-October of 2026.

Chandannagar Heritage Trails: Nritya Gopal Smiti Mandir & Chandannagar Library

2026-07-07T04:15:00.000+05:30

On the G.T. Road, Bagbazar (বাগবাজার) of Chandannagar (yes like Kolkata, French colony Chandannagar also has a Bagbazar), just opposite to HP Petrol Pump there is a beautiful palace - now the once-white domes have became blackish with the time but you can't miss it. And if you observe it closely, you would find the name of the building - 'Nitya Gopal Smriti Mandir O Chandannagar Pustakagar' (নৃত্যগোপাল স্মৃতি মন্দির ও চন্দননগর পুস্তকাগার) is inscribed on the top of the building. Many locals call it as 'Old Library'.

In 1873 Jadunath Palit founded a library in Chandannagar. Palit along with Mahendranath Nandy and Motilal Seth also formed a theatre club. Later the library and theatre club merged and ran together on a rented house. But the journey of this library was not smooth due to financial issues and location was changed multiple times. At last the great philanthropist Sri Harihar Sett (হরিহর শেঠ) came as a savior. He founded a new palatial building for it during 1915 to 1920 in Bagbazar on the G.T. Road, donated it to the people of Chandannagar and named it after his father as his father donated Rs 50,000 for the social work in the city before his death.

Main Gate of the Library

Harihar Sett was a historian, educationist and also a collector. He also founded the Krishnabhabani Nari Shiksha Mandir (named after his mother) in 1920, the first school for girls in the Hooghly district.

Harihar Seth (Edited with Gemini)

Characterized by its magnificent dome structure, this grand, north-facing brick edifice stands as a testament to the fusion of colonial and native design. European Neoclassicism meets traditional artistry where stately Corinthian columns stand alongside intricate Hindu motifs. The exterior is richly decorated with a rhythm of arches and pilasters, featuring a distinct arrangement of three and two pillars framing the front, and four arched windows lining both sides. Inside, the exquisite craftsmanship culminates in a spectacular hall tailored for social gatherings.

Nritya Gopal Smiti Mandir & Chandannagar Library

north facade of the building (edited on Gemini)

Harihar Sett also became the Secretary of the Managing Committee named “Nritya Gopal Smrity Mandir – O – Chandannagar Pustakagar". The inauguration of the Building was done by Sri Surendra Nath Banerjee and the function was presided over by Mahamohopadhyan Haraprasad Shastri. The library houses a auditorium where Rabindranath Tagore gave a speech during a visit to Chandannagar.

Bust of Kaviguru Rabindranath in the main gate

Designated as a Sub-Divisional Town Library after the Government of West Bengal took over its management in 1975, this institution is a cornerstone of local heritage. Funded jointly by government grants and member subscriptions, it boasts an impressive collection of around 60,000 books. For years, it has been a major attraction for students and researchers, drawn to its unique journals and magazines on India's freedom struggle, as well as its extensive volumes on history, philosophy, and biography. The library is actively preserving its valuable books and historical manuscripts while upgrading its visitor experience by transitioning to computerized facilities.

This structure has been declared as heritage building by the Heritage Commission, West Bengal in 2019.

Historically these libraries - Institute de Chandannagore (estd 1720), Chandannagar College Library (estd 1862), Chandannagar Pustakagar (estd 1873) and Gondalpara Sammelan Town Library (estd 1922) served as intellectual hubs for specific social groups — scholars, colonial administrators, or urban middle classes.

Opening Time: 1 pm to 7 pm (Mon to Fri) [Sunday Closed]

Sources:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/403776836_Libraries_of_Chandannagar_A_Cultural_Study_with_Special_Reference_to_Akshar_Bandhu_Granthaghar
https://www.instagram.com/cgrchronicles/

Chandannagore Heritage Trails: Chandannagar Rani Ghat

2026-06-30T12:09:56.817+05:30

Today if I shout about Chandannagore (চন্দননগর), everyone would talk about the Jagadhatri Puja (জগদ্ধাত্রী পুজো) and the light decoration, Surya Modak's Jolbhora (সূর্য মোদকের জলভরা) and the Strand. For anytime the city's Strand by the riverside is most loved location in Chandannagore or Chandannagar.

Well that's not all of Chandannagar - during the British Raj, it was a French Colony till 1st October, 1950 and therefore became the natural sanctuary of many of the Indian revolutionists, most famous is definitely Rishi Aurobindo. Earlier locals call the town as Forashdanga (ফরাসডাঙ্গা) - the land of the French. That's similar to old Danish colony Serampore's old local name - Dinemardanga (দিনেমারডাঙ্গা) - 'দিনেমার' the word was originated from 'Danskere'.

The Strand, the main attraction of the city today, is basically almost 2 km long riverside road. It will remind Pondicherry's promenade for sure. And most prominent colonial buildings are here.

What to see from the north to south -

1.1 Rani Ghat & Jetty

The strand, to the north starts with a beautiful, big ghat with 8 big pillars. The ghat was built by the Queen of Bhukailash Rajbari (ভূকৈলাস রাজবাড়ি), Sri Tarasundari Debi (তারাসুন্দরী দেবী) in the year of 1294, as stated by the plate on the top of the entrance of the ghat. It could be the Bengali year of 1294, which translated into 1987 - that's so recent. That makes me so confused how old the Ghat is.

Rani Ghat, Chandannagar

Establishment Plate

Rani Ghat, Chandannagar

Further history is not known to me, as why Queen of Bhukailash Rajbari of Kidderpore, Kolkata came to establish a ghat in a French colony.

In the ghat there is Kali temple too, founded by Jankinath Mukhopadhyay in the year of 1925. That marks a temple of more than 100 years.

Foundation Plate of Sri Sri Kali Mata Temple, Rani Ghat

Sri Sri Kali Mata at Rani Ghat

There is a spritual center - Shrigangasram - founded by Thakur Sri Sri Sitaramdas Onkarnath Deb on 31st Baishakh of 1380 (15 May 1973).

Shrigangasram, Rani Ghat

Just beside this ghat, there is the jetty and the ferry ghat. The ferry Ghat connects to Jagaddal (Jagaddal Ferry Ghat) on the opposite eastern bank of the Hooghly River, bridging the Hooghly and North 24 Parganas districts. Previously the floating restaurant - Joloshree was parked in the jetty, now shifted to middle part of the Strand.

Airtel Unlimited 5G Prepaid Plans (June 2026)

2026-06-26T00:45:59.319+05:30

New Delhi-HQed Bharti Airtel is the second largest mobile operator in India after Reliance Jio. Though it was originated from India, it had achieved its global status with over 650 million customers in 15 countries across Asia and Africa. Airtel holds a 37.89% market share of the wireless subscriber base in India, while top telco Jio holds 39.27% market share and remaining Vi (15.56%) and BSNL (7.28%) stand distant.

Despite Jio's wild entry with 4G in 2015-16 with market disruptive strategies like free data and calls and later cheapest data plans, Airtel had not lost from the game and kept improving and has now positioned itself with a premiumization strategy, prioritizing higher profit margins and user monetization over massive subscriber volume. Infact, Airtel has the highest proportion of active (VLR) wireless subscribers in the country, consistently operating at a near-perfect active user rate of roughly 99.3%, higher ARPU (₹257 in Q3 FY26 vs Jio's ₹214) and larger premium postpaid subscriber pool.

On 5G, Airtel did launched 5G-NSA (since October 2022) which definitely did put them at par with competition with Jio, but that gives Jio advantage on the 5G-FWA. Jio holds ~70% in 5G-FWA market. Later Airtel started transition to 5G-SA from February 2026. In GSA reports we saw 5G-SA is atleast 2.2x spectral efficient.

This is my analysis of Airtel's Selected Prepaid Plans which are offering unlimited 5G data. Airtel also has some plans without unlimited 5G data, that marks another way to monetize 5G. While Jio offers unlimited 5G to all prepaid plans, subject to eligibility of the the subscribers. The eligibility criteria is basically nothing but recharging a 5G pack worth ₹51.

As of June 2026, all of Airtel's Unlimited 5G Prepaid plans come with:

Unlimited calls in India (incoming, outgoing, roaming)
100 SMS/day
Adobe Express Premium x 12 months (previous offer was Perplexity Pro)
Free HelloTunes - get one song for 30 days

Presently Airtel is offering:

6 Prepaid plans for 28 day-validity, and one single plan for 30 day-validity
2 plans worth 56 day-validity
6 plans for 84 day-validity and,
3 annual plans (with 365 day-validity)
Airtel also offering unlimited data (on 4G/5G) on some plans.
There are only 2 vanilla plans – all other plans has some OTT offerings including Airtel Xtream Play.

If you have a TV with broadband/AirFiber – mostly you would got OTT offers with multiple device acess, hence I would rather go for minimal OTT offering or simply Vanilla Prepaid plans.

And if you are on Vi, the plans are more or less same but extra benefits like data roll over, night/weekend unlimited data are there - and as they have smaller subscriber base, you should get better speed on Vi than Airtel.

Airtel Prepaid Unlimited 5G Plans

Prepaid ₹ 349

4G 2GB/day + UL 5G

Apple Music x 6months

Validity 28 days

Cost per day: ₹ 12.46

Prepaid ₹ 379

4G 2GB/day + UL 5G

Google One 30GB x 30 days

Apple Music x 6months

Validity 30 days

Cost per day: ₹ 12.63

Prepaid ₹ 399

UL 4G+5G

Validity 28 days

Cost per day: ₹ 14.25

Prepaid ₹ 409

4G 2.5GB/day + UL 5G

Airtel Xtream Premium (Sony LIV + 20+ OTT) x 28 days

Validity 28 days

Cost per day: ₹ 14.60

Prepaid ₹ 429

4G 2.5GB/day + UL 5G

Airtel Xtream Play (Free) x 28 days

Validity 28 days

Cost per day: ₹ 14.60

Prepaid ₹ 449

UL 4G + 5G

Airtel Xtream Premium (Sony LIV + 20+ OTT) x 28 days

JioHostar Mobile x 28 days

Validity 28 days

Cost per day: ₹ 16.03

Prepaid ₹ 598

2GB/day 4G + UL 5G

Airtel Xtream Premium (Netflix Basic + Zee5 Premium + JioHotstar Super + others) x 28 days

Validity 28 days

Cost per day: ₹ 21.35

Prepaid ₹ 649

2GB/day 4G + UL 5G

Validity 56 days

Cost per day: ₹ 11.58

Prepaid ₹ 838

3GB/day 4G + UL 5G

Airtel Xtream Premium (Sony LIV + 20+ OTT) x 56 days

Amazon Prime Lite x 56 d

Validity 56 days

Cost per day: ₹ 14.96

Prepaid ₹ 979

2GB/day 4G + UL 5G

Airtel Xtream Premium (Sony LIV + 20+ OTT) x84 days

Validity 84 days

Cost per day: ₹ 11.29

Prepaid ₹ 1029

2GB/day 4G + UL 5G

JioHotstar Mobile x 90 days

Validity 84 days

Cost per day: ₹ 12.25

Prepaid ₹ 1099

UL 4G + 5G

JioHotstar Mobile x 90 days

Validity 84 days

Cost per day: ₹ 13.08

Prepaid ₹ 1199

2.5GB/day 4G + UL 5G

Amazon Prime Lite x 84 d

Airtel Xtream Premium (Sony LIV + 20+ OTT) x 84 days

Validity 84 days

Cost per day: ₹ 14.27

Prepaid ₹ 1729

2GB/day 4G + UL 5G

Amazon Prime Lite x 84 d

Airtel Xtream Premium (Sony LIV + 20+ OTT) x 84 days

Validity 84 days

Cost per day: ₹ 20.58

Prepaid ₹ 1798

3GB/day 4G + UL 5G

Netflix Basic x 84 days

Validity 84 days

Cost per day: ₹ 21.40

Prepaid ₹ 3599

2GB/day 4G + UL 5G

Airtel Xtream Play Free

Validity 365 days

Cost per day: ₹ 9.86

Prepaid ₹ 3999

2.5GB/day 4G + UL 5G

Jio Hotstar Mobile x 90 days

Validity 365 days

Cost per day: ₹ 10.95

Prepaid ₹ 4099

UL 4G + 5G

Validity 365 days

Cost per day: ₹ 11.23

✰ As checked on 23rd June, 2026 on Airtel Thanks app for Kolkata & RoWB circle.

Hyderabad Cuisine - A Complete Guide

2026-06-18T17:55:07.685+05:30

Foods in Hyderabad (Image Credit: Gemini)

Hyderabad, the capital city of Telengana, a state in South India, is also a paradise for food lovers. It was the capital of Andra Pradesh since India's independence, and remains so till 2014 when the state of Andhra Pradesh was divided into Telengana and Andhra. Till 2024 Hyderabad remains the capital of both states, and later Andhra got its own capital - Amaravati.

This story is all about the food of Hyderabad. At present Hyderabad has became of hub of IT indutries, but Hyderabadi cuisine is a major part of its culture. In fact Hyderabad was the first Indian city listed as a creative city of gastronomy by UNESCO in 2019. In 2025 Lucknow got the recognition as second Indian city.

Hyderabad was founded as the capital city in 1591 by the fifth Qutb Shahi sultan, Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah, on the banks of the Musi River to avoid water shortages experienced at Golconda Fort. It was built around the Charminar - the iconic landmark of the city. Mughals conquered and founded Hyderabad suba in 1687 and that's the beginning of Nizams in Hyderabad, however as Mughals weakened, the Nizams took control of the city - in 1724 Asaf Jah I defeated Mubariz Khan to establish autonomy over the Deccan Suba, named the region Hyderabad Deccan, and started what came to be known as the Asaf Jahi dynasty. Subsequent rulers retained the title Nizam ul-Mulk and were referred to as Asaf Jahi Nizams, or Nizams of Hyderabad. Nizams developed the state of Hyderabad and continued their royal rule during the British era as largest princely state in British India. Even after India's independence in 1947 Nizams planned to be independent without joining India or Pakistan - but Indian Army took control of Hyderabad 0n 17th September 1948 with Operation Polo.

Nizams of Hyderabad patronaged to create the Hyderabadi cuisines, as the royal chefs or khansamas blended Mughlai cooking techniques with South Indian, local Deccani, and Persian/Arabic influences.

The showstopper of the show is definitely Hyderabadi Biriyani - well it's spicey and some may not like it. If you are fond of subtle, mid aromatic Lucknow biriyani, Hyderabadi biriyani may not be palatable to you. For kebabs you can have Pathhar ki Gosht, and for stew your choice is Hyderabadi Mutton Haleem. Mutton Haleem is a seasonal dish made during Ramadan, but you can now get it during off season too in some joints. And if you consider a light soup in Hyderabad - the choice is Mutton Marag.

I have a long list of restaurants and food joints in Hyderabad and definitely the iconic ones will stay in next years, while some may be lost in time. The list is quite long, but I suggest you to choose a Biryani joint where you can have most of the items like Pista House, Hotel Shadab, etc.

Hyderbadi Biryani – Sarvi Restaurant (Banjara Hills), Hotel Shadab (Madina circle, also try Kachhi biriyani), Pista House (any branch), Mandar, Maks Kitchen, Grand Hotel, Café Bahar (also try Keema Biriyani), Bawarchi (RTC X road), Biryaniwalla & Co (Banjara Hills), Mehfil (Narayanaguda), Capital Multicuisine, Hotel Niagra, Hilton (Kairathabad), 4 Seasons, Imperial, Shah Ghouse (Tolichowki, also try Gongura Biryani), Shahi Dastarkhan, Meridian (Punjagutta), Nawaabs (Gachibowli, also try Ulavacharu Biryani ), Adaa at Taj Falaknuma Palace (Engine Bowli), Al Saba (Telecom Nagar), Fanooz (Lakdikapul, also try: kheema lukhmi, haleem, marag), Swagath Grand, Biryani Times (Hi-Tech City), Paradise (Secunderabad - also try Zafrani Biriyani here), Angaara, Lucky Restaurant, Chaitanya Food Court (KPHB), Nayab (Charminar), Sohail Hotel (Malakpet), Kritunga (any branch)

Special mentions:

Huzaifa (beef biryani) at Affandi Town,

Hamid Biriyani,

Akram Biryani,

Karachi biryani - Teri Meri Biryani

Nalli Gosht biryani - Krishnapatnam

Sofiyani/Safeyda Biryani or White Biryani - Tosh E Daan, Blue Sea, Aish at The Park Hyderabad (Raj Bhawan Rd)

Shahi Gosht biryani - Golden Pavilion

MLA Potlam Biriyani - The Spicy Venue (also try: Jackfruit Biriyani) [MLA Potlam Biriyani is a spicy keema biryani which is topped with prawns and wrapped in a thin egg omelette]

Pathar ka Gosht – Biryaniwalla & Co, Nawabs, Shahi Dastarkhan, Al Farooj Sonu Kebabs, Chichas, Bade Miyan Kebabs

Mutton Haleem (Ramadan) – City Diamond, Sarvi, Pista House, Peshawar, Hilton, Grill 9, Shadab, Shah Ghouse, Subham Bakery, Café 555, Cafer Bahar, Bawarchi

Mutton Haleem (Off Season) – Kholanis, Chichas, Hyderbad House, Pariwar Havmor, Jewel of Nizam, Fanooz, Aish The Park, Soda Bottle Opener Wala, Tosh E Daan, Golden Pavillion

Mutton Marag – Pista House (Kin Koti), Nawaabs, Imperial, Capital Multicuisine Restaurant, Biryaniwalla & co, Hotel Sohail, Chichas, 4 Season, Tosh-e-daan

Chicken 65 – Maks Kitchen, Al Akbar Fast Food, Biryaniwalla & Co, Pesawar, Dine Hill, Spicy Venue, Shadab Go, Shah Ghouse, Lucky Restaurant, Grand Hotel, Imperial, Bawarchi

Chicken 65 at Bawarchi

Special mention: Munshi naan (a 170-year-old square bread naan recipe): Khadeem Munshi Naan (Purani Haveli)

Juice centers/Ice Cream - Milan Juice Center (Char Minar, try Mulberry/Shahtoot Malai ), Nice Juice Center, Haji ALi, Mayur Fruit Juice Center, Creamstone, Huber and Holly, Naturals, Famous Ice cream (Mozanjali Market, try Pot Ice Cream), Vindour, Softy Den, Masqati Icecream, Ohri's Eatmor.

Mulberry Malai at Milan Juice Center

Apricot Delight – Spicy Venue, Pista House

Khowa Jalebi – Burhanpur Khowa Jalebi

Khubani ka Meetha - Shadab, Pista House

Kunafa, Turkish Milk Cake – Gourmet Baklava

Lassi - Nishaat Lassi (Memon Hospital)

Semiyan Delight, Ksheer Khurma – Deccan Kitchen

Jouzi Halwa – Hameedi Confectioners

Malai Bun - Chatturam, Nilofer

Double ka Meetha - Subham Bakery

Shadiyon wali Kaddu ki Kheer - Zaiqa e Kitchen

Near Char Minar: Hotel Nayaab (Try: Paya, Nihari, Gurda Bhaji, and Khichdi Kheema), Hotel Shadab (Try: Khichdi Kheema, Talawa Gosht, and Mutton Dalcha), Hotel Armaan (Try: bheja fry, kheema roti, and chicken dosa), Makkah Tiffins (Try: egg dosa, chicken dosa, and spicy kheema), Rumaan Restaurant (Try: paya soup, nahari, and mutton dishes), Deccan Darwaza (try: Gulbarga Tahari)

Dosa at HYD: Nani’s Tiffins, Pragathi Tiffins, Minerva Coffee Shop, Rahul Tiffins, Varalakshai Tiffins, Lakshman ki Bandi, Ram ki Bandi, Taj Mahal Hotel, Taaza Kitchen, Panchakattu, Simply South, Chutneys

Authentic Andhra meal: IGuru (Manikonda), Aho (DLF), Rayalseema Ruchulu (Ameerpet), Sri Kakatiya Deluxe Mess (Ameerpet), Pakka Local (Banjara Hills), Kadali Kitchen, Southern Mirchi (Banjara hills), The Spicy Venue (Jubilee hills), Palle Vindu (Gachibowli), Vivaha Bhojanambu (Secunderabad)

Best Breakfast in HYD: Dulhan Paratha (Resham Gali - paratha/keema/egg salad), Al Naseeb (Tower market - puri/halwa/channa salan/lassi), Cafe Firdous (Resham gali - tea/long breakfast menu), Al Fajar (Latifabad 07 - puri/alo channa/achar), Quetta Partha (Wadhuwah - chai/paratha)

Chai – Café Niloufer, Pista House, Blue Sea, Grand Hotel, Alpha Hotel, Kadak House, Hotel Niagra, Sohanlal Tea Point, Hotel Imroze, Bhai ki Chai, Taiba, Nimrah.

Oshmania Biscuit – Subham Bakery, Karachi Bakery, Café Niloufer, Pista House

Old is Gold - Iconic ones: Hotel Niagara (since 1969 - Biryani/chai), Taj Mahal Hotel, Abids (since 1948), Karachi Bakery (since 1953 - cookies), Haiking Chinese (since 1972 - OG Chinese in Hyd), Hotel Sadab (since 1953 - Biryani/Irani Chai), Grand Hotel (1935), Hotel Madina (since 1947), Paradise (1953), Subhan Bakery (1948 - Osmania biscuits/plum cakes), Hameedi confectioners (since 1913 - Jauzi Halwa)

Pan Asian fine dining - Mekong, Hashi, Haiku, 7 Sisters, Sesame, China Bistro, Chinese Pavilliom, Zega, Minyu, Yi Jing, Kembara, Bidri - Marriott, Seasonal Tastes (Westin), Mazzo (Marriott Excutive Apartments), Aish (The Park), Jewel of Nizam (The Minar), Dum Pukth (ITC Kohenur),. Celeste (Taj Falaknama), Tre Forni (Park Hyatt).

Pizza places: L Pompeii Pizza Studio, Broadway the Brewery, Jamie's Pizzeria, The Hoppery, Olive Bistro, Zozo's Pizzeria (Jubilee Hills), Nove - The Italian Kitchen, Flying Spaghetti Monster (Banjara Hills), Pizza Den (Secunderabad), Ci Gusta (Madhapur), Little Italy (Film Nagar), Prego (Hi Tech City)

Romantic dinner: Jamun, Akina, Olive Bistro & Bar, RU, The Sanctuary Bar & Kitchen

Turkish restaurant - Kebapci Hills (Banjara Hills)

Bars: Hodd's Cocktail Bar (Gachibowli), Ru Craft Bar (Jubilee Hills), Whisky Samba (Hi Tech City), Babylon Kitchen & Bar (JH), Cock & Bull (Madhapur), Olive Bistro (JH - also for Pizza), Lord of the Drinks (JH), Tabula Rasa (JH), Halo Cocktail Bar & Kitchen (JH), Lake District Bar & Kitchen (Khairatabad), Oxymorons (Begumpet)

Microbreweries in HYD:

Broadway The Brewery (Jubilee Hills, must try: apple cider, mango cider)

Zero40 Brewing (JH, must try: mango cider)

Prost (JH, must try: Kashmiri Apple, Salted Chilli Guava cider, Mango cider, Cosmic litchi, Lemongrass lager)

Red Rhino (Madhapur, must try: Apple/coffee cider)

Vault Brewery (JH, must try: vanilla cider, Green apple cider, Cranberry cider)

Zythum Brewing Co (JH, must try: apple/mango cider)

Ironhill (Kukatpally, must try: apple/cosmic litchi cider)

OneGolf Brewery (Financial district, must try: Raspberry/pomegranate cider)

The Beer Cartel (Hitech city, must try: Mango wit cider)

Forge Breu-Hous (JH, must try: guava cider, strawberry cider)

Special Mention: Cloud Dining at HiTech City (dine at 160 ft)

Cloud Dining - Hyderabad HiTec City

Ok let's stop here! I created this list in early of 2026, and hopefully more will be added in future.

vivo x200T - Experience

2026-05-31T17:21:00.000+05:30

I bought vivo x200T in May 2026. It is the first phone I bought from Oppo/vivo/realme/iQoo branding. The reason is simple - the camera! OnePlus is lost after its merger with Oppo, and Xiaomi is somehow messed up. Vivo did two things smart - first they introduced OriginOS and second they are serious with smartphone cameras.

Overview of the smartphone:

x200T (T for turbo)

Actual model no. vivo V2561

It stands as the bridge between x200 and x300 series.

Launched in India in January 2026

MRP ₹87,999 -> available at ₹69,999 (512GB)/₹59,999 (256GB)

On Flipkart SASA-LELE sale ₹10,000 discount

Credit Card discount ₹5,000

No Cost EMI on Credit Card Transactions ₹4,764

₹69,999−₹19,764 = ₹50235

Payment Handling Fee ₹151

Offer Handling Fee ₹199

Protect Promise Fee ₹199

Effective price - ₹50,784

MediaTek Dimensity 9400+ chipset

12 GB LPDDR5X Ultra RAM

512 GB UFS 4.1 storage.

OriginOS 6 based on Android 16 out of the box.

5 years of OS upgrades

7 years of security updates.

tranfer data from old to new phone: EasyShare

https://esin.vivo.com/

After purchase & setup on 12.05.2026, I received OTA update of 647 MB (PD2458BF_EX_A_16.0.10.0.W30)

next update on 15.5.26 - PD2458BF_EX_A_16.0.11.1.W30 of 799MB

12.06.2026 - PD2458BF_EX_A_16.0.11.2.W30 of 826 MB

11.08.20206 - PD2458BF_EX_A_16.0.12.3.W30 of 640 MB

Airtel Launched Priority Postpaid - India's First Network Slicing AI Network

2026-05-23T16:49:00.000+05:30

Airtel Priority Postpaid

Globally it is believed that odds of 'G' are not successful commercially, as 1G, 3G and now 5G - as investment did not give much pleasure to the revenue book. However as 6G is not coming til 2028-2030, I guess operators are looking ways to make money out of 5G.

Earlier I explained how Jio leveraging their deployment of 5G-Standalone (5G-SA) technology to launch its Air Fiber services and has become world's largest operator on Fixed Wireless Access (5G-FWA) in July last year. Jio expanded its FWA services with UBR (unlicensed band radio) over 5GHz band.

Frankly speaking in the FWA market, Jio is way ahead of Airtel. So Airtel had to bring something unique to monetize 5G. Earlier in the beginning of this month of May '26, there was a news that Airtel may bring network slicing to its priority 5G customers who would get dedicated virtual "fast lanes" to provide consistent, faster connectivity for postpaid customers in high-traffic or congested areas.

Well, Airtel, though started with 5G-NSA, has also deployed 5G-SA in selected pockets across the country with partnership with Ericsson. Without 5G-SA (where the 5G core operates independently from older 4G infrastructure) network slicing could not be done, so Airtel had to wait a bit for it.

On May 19, 2026 Airtel announced the launch of Priority Postpaid, a new service that leverages 5G slicing technology to deliver superior and more consistent experience to customers who depend on uninterrupted connectivity for work, entertainment, or online collaboration.

In the press release from Bharti Airtel, launching Network Slicing is dubbed as something "reflecting Airtel’s continued investment in building a smarter, more resilient, and future-ready digital network and reinforces its commitment to combining advanced technology with customer-centric innovation." It is expected to gain 20-30% more ARPU from such customers.

Airtel claims this offering as India's first, but without network slicing Jio or Airtel could not offer speed based tariffs on their 5G-FWA.

Commenting on the launch, Shashwat Sharma, MD & CEO – Airtel India, said, “Our focus at Airtel is on delivering meaningful innovations that enhance our customers' experience. Priority Postpaid is our latest innovation powered by the 5G slicing technology. It provides a superior, more reliable, and dependable experience to our customers — whether they are attending a client call in traffic, or streaming at a packed concert, or booking a cab in a crowded market.”

AIRTEL PRIORITY POSTPAID PLANS
Postpaid Rental (+GST)	₹ 449	₹ 699	₹ 999	₹ 1199	₹ 1749
Plan type	Individual	Family of 2	Family of 3	Family of 4	Family of 5
Base Benefits	Priority on 5G with Fastlane Technology Fraud detection and Spam alert services Unlimited data and calling 3000 SMS
Airtel Xstream Play	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
Adobe Express Premium	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
100 GB Cloud Storage	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
Amazon Prime	✘	✔	✔	✔	✔
Jio Hotstar	✘	✔	✔	✔	✔
Apple TV & Music	✘	✘	✔	✔	✔
Netflix	✘	✘	✘	✘	✔

Global Adoption of Network Slicing

Globally operators in USA, UK, Germany, Spain, Singapore, Malaysia, China has launched network slicing on their 5G operations. But these are mostly for enterprise segments like enterprise video calling applications, remote workforces, mission-critical automated industrial applications, stadium events, public safety sectors, maritime operations (smart ports), automated public transport systems, health care infrastructure, high-security enterprise connections etc.

The biggest question lies what is Network Slicing on 5G

If you know the technical part of 5G - it can be deployed easily with just software patch over existing 4G. That makes 5G a software defining network (SDN) and to add that cloud native operations with automation (which is often told as Artificial Intelligence driven networks). As 5G is not depended on fixed hardwares, and mostly software driven, modern 5G standalone networks virtualise many network operations. It helps operators can dynamically allocate bandwidth, latency priorities, compute resources, and traffic routing to different slices.

"A simple way to understand it is to imagine a highway. In a traditional network, every vehicle shares the same lanes. In a sliced network, operators can create dedicated lanes for emergency services, freight vehicles, public transport, or premium traffic. Importantly, these slices are not physically separate mobile towers or entirely independent networks. They are virtual partitions running on the same infrastructure."

Network slicing is widely considered one of the most distinguishing factors that distincts 5G from previously deployed of mobile networks. While 4G primarily brought faster Internet to smartphones, 5G is designed to support vastly different types of applications at the same time.

Huawei explains Network Slicing as: "Network slicing is a new network architecture that provides multiple logical networks on the same shared network infrastructure. Each logical network serves a specific service type or industry user. Each network slice can flexibly define its logical topology, SLA requirements, reliability, and security level to meet differentiated requirements of different services, industries, or users.

Network slicing enables carriers to reduce the cost of constructing multiple private networks and provide highly flexible network services that can be scheduled and allocated on demand based on service requirements. This improves the network value and monetization capability of carriers and facilitates digital transformation of various industries."

Example of Network Slicing (Source: Huawei)

Net Neutrality Debate Returns

But Airtel's launch of Priority Postpaid in India brings back the old debate of Net Neutrality. In 2015 Facebook's Free Basics and Airtel Zero both faced backlashes from the public and the government. Many argued that Airtel's prepaid customers and other postpaid customers may experience poor network.

Airtel clears its stand, as wrote to DoT, "Priority Postpaid is implemented in a content-neutral manner and is fully consistent with the existing TRAI and DoT framework. There is no blocking, throttling, content-specific prioritisation, zero-rating, or preferential treatment of any application."

In my honest opinion, network slicing is a beauty of 5G technology, where automated priority given to a sliced network without degrading existing networks on main network.

Airtel's rival Jio expressed their support to network slicing. Jio as wrote to DOT, said, "Network slicing-based service deployment are a legitimate exercise of 5G network capabilities, subject to compliance with the applicable provisions of the Unified License and TRAI regulations."

Many think this support is unexpected but technically both are right to support network slicing in 5G. Jio is also running 10 sliced networks since July 2025 for the enterprise, the Internet of Things (IoT), gaming, Jio’s fixed wireless access (FWA) service JioAirFiber, and mission-critical services. The number may get more than 10 as of today, but Jio did not launch such thing for end-customers. Powered by Jio Platforms' Cloud-Native 5G Core, Jio's Network Slicing utilizes 3GPP-standardized capabilities such as the Network Slice Selection Function (NSSF) and Network Slice Admission Control Function (NSACF).

In real world, one can easily get 150-250Mbps on any 5G supported smartphone. As checked by users, Airtel is offering decent 200Mbps for regular users, while it's ~320Mbps on Priority Postpaid. Do you really need that much of speed on smartphones for daily usage?

Airtel later changed 'Priority Postpaid' to 'Fast Lane'.

Vi, the merged entity of Idea Cellular and Vodafone India, had demonstrated 5G network slicing way back in 2021 with Nokia's technology (RAN and 5G Core) in Gandhinagar, Gujarat (Press Release, pdf). As of now Vi is looking at Network Slicing as a business solution, not as a service to consumer level. The reason is mostly technical for Vi, as to deploy Network Slicing Vi needs true 5G Core technology to be deployed first, as Network slicing required 5G-SA. It can't be deployed over 5G-NSA. Vi, with huge debt burden, couldn't deploy nation-wide 5G-SA initially, but the company is scaling up its 5G deployment with 5G-SA tech. So in future Vi may launch network slicing on its 5G network. Also compared to Jio and Airtel's wide 5G coverage, Vi's 5G coverage is not that robust.

Interesting Apps and Websites [2026]

2026-05-20T15:10:00.000+05:30

I am trying to list out those apps, for Windows and Android - are really impressive.

❖WINDOWS

Browser:

Opera, Vivaldi, Firefox, Edge

Opera was sold to a consortium lead by Chinese companies Kunlun Tech, Golden Brick Silk Road and Qihoo 360 in 2016 (July), while Opera's co-founder Jon Stephenson von Tetzchner launched Vivaldi, as a spiritual successor of Opera.

Browser (Firefox forks): I prefer Floorp (on Windows). Others: LibreWolf, WaterFox

Browsers with VPN - Opera, Aloha Browser, ~~Epic Browser~~#, Avast Browser, UR Browser

#Epic Browser had only 2 search engine options - Yahoo and Epic. EpicSearch is ad-free, requires registration and costs $2.50 per month. Epic Privacy Browser has discontinued its built-in free VPN/encrypted proxy service due to high operational costs and time constraints, as of mid-2025.

Video Player on Windows:

PotPlayer,
VLC - the good one, if not best!
MPC BE (fork of MPC HC, which is a fork of Open Source MPC, which stopped development in 2006);
Ray AI Media Player (by OpenSubtiles.com, it can generate AI subtitle);
Glucose - it can also generate subtitles on-device.

Others: Jet Audio Plus, KMP, GOM Player, MPlayer (forked versions: mpv & SMPlayer)

Subtitle download: https://www.subtitlecat.com/ or, https://subdl.com or, https://www.opensubtitles.org/en/ (OpenSubtitles developed RAY - World's first AI media player that generates and translates subtitles instantly in 200+ languages. https://rayplayer.com/en)

Audio Players: Foobar2000, Winamp, jetAudio

Office apps: Foxit PDF Reader, Nitro PDF Pro (for editing pdf)

MS Office 2024 costs Rs 11,000 (as of April '26) but it does not include AI CoPilot & Cloud based subscription plan for 1 year. Microsoft is promoting Office 365.

Alternate to MS Office: OpenOffice, Libre Office, Euro Office

File Compressors: 7Zip - open source

(others: NanoZip, PeaZip, BandiZip, WinZip, WinRAR)

Desktop sharing: RustDesk (open source) vs TeamViewer

[you can get comparison by TeamViewer themselves: www.teamviewer.com/en/special/teamviewer-alternative/ ]

Better Copy tool: TeraCopy (https://www.codesector.com/teracopy)

Photo Editors: Irfanview, Darktable (free, open-source photo editor & RAW processing program), GIMP (Adobe Photoshop alternative),

Snipping Tool: ShareX

Microsoft ICE is dead, alternative: Hugin (https://hugin.sourceforge.io/)

Alt to Windows File Explorer: Files, File Pilot, OneCommander, Double Commander, Total Commander, xPlorer2, Directory Opus

Special mention: TreeSize (Free)

TreeSize Free is a lightweight, highly efficient disk space management utility developed by JAM Software that scans hard drives to visually break down exactly which files and folders are consuming your storage. By working directly on the Master File Table (MFT), it achieves exceptionally fast scan speeds to map out storage allocations.

Debloat Windows: Winhance (https://winhance.net)

Scolect - Track Screen Time & App Usage:
https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9phbzxnpvhsq

USB Tools: Rufus, UsbToolbox (https://github.com/USBToolBox/tool/releases)

Chat/IM: Pidgin https://www.pidgin.im -> supports Jabber/XMPP, Bonjour, Gadu-Gadu, IRC, Novell GroupWise Messenger, Lotus Sametime, SILC, SIMPLE, Zephyr and many more with plug-ins.

--------------------------------------------------------------

ANDROID

🤖 Android App stores apart from Google Play Store:

https://www.openapk.net

https://f-droid.org/

https://www.indusappstore.com/ - made for Indian users, by developers of PhonePe. Xiaomi/Redmi comes with it preinstalled.

Camera app: OpenCamera, ProCam X, GCam

RAW Photography: FreeDcam

Editing: SnapSeed (Google), Adobe Lightroom Mobile, Lens Distortions, Image Toolbox

Encrypted vault for sensitive photos: Photok

Gallery App: Fossify Gallery, Aves Libre

Retro photography app - HujiCam, OldRoll

Duplicate finder - Awesome Duplicate Photo Finder

Premium apps - AppDoze, CrasksHash, haxNode

🤖 OTT: Netflix, JioHotstar, Prime Video, SonyLIV, ZEE5

🤖 OTT Bengali: Klikk, HoiChoi, Platform 8, AddaTimes, Fridaay, Aro Ananda

🤖 OTT Bengali (Bangladesh): Chorki, Binge, Bongo BD, Bioscope

🤖 Music Player: JetAudio (Plus), Sony Music (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sony.songpal&hl=en_IN), PixelPlay

🤖 Video Player: VLC, MX Player (Pro), NOVA Video Player, MPV-Android, XPlayer, Exo Player, Next Player (download from F-Droid - presently my default player, beats MX Player as it is free)

🤖 Android apps (free vs paid/subscription):

🤖 NewPipe vs YouTube (YouTube Vanced is dead, then came Revanced, then Revanced Extended (RVX) and Morphe - https://morphe.software)

🤖 OuterTune vs YouTube Music (OuterTune can also play stored songs)

🤖 OsmAnd~ vs Google Maps

🤖 Aegis Authenticator vs Authy/Google Authenticator

🤖 Thunderbird Email Client (previously K-9 Mail) vs GMail

🤖 Heliboard vs GBoard

🤖 muPDF Mini - https://f-droid.org/packages/com.artifex.mupdf.mini.app/ [can open PDF, XPS, CBZ, unprotected EPUB, and FB2 documents.]

Online Image Editing: Squoosh ⇨ https://squoosh.app (can compress images)

Online Video editor - OpenCut ⇨ https://opencut.app

Online PDF Editor - StirlingPDF ⇨ https://www.stirling.com

1337x Proxy list: https://github.com/wesharebytes/1337x-Proxy-List

Get symbols & Emojis: coolsymbol.com

Websites:

Track flights live: https://www.flightaware.com/live/

Fakeupdate.net - generate fake update screen while resting

Globetv.app - any tv channel

PerChance.org/image-generator-professional - generate AI Images from text, free, no sign up

Cobalt.tools - download video from tiktok, YT, FB, X, IG

Streamex.net - stream any movies from Hulu, Netflix, Prime etc at HD, free, no sign up

OmniTools.app - boost your productivity - like sort a list, create transparent image, compress PNG, Spilt a PDF, Trim video etc.

https://toolesh.com - download from YT, Scribd, Slideshare etc etc.

https://ssdownloader.com

https://huggingface.co/spaces/black-forest-labs/FLUX.2-dev - Online Photo Editing

https://www.photopea.com Online Photo Editing

Tech updates:

https://www.neowin.net

https://betanews.com

Cyber India Online - https://www.ciol.com (CyberMedia backed, who published PCQuest magazine)

https://arstechnica.com/

https://techcrunch.com ---> also look into: https://techcrunch.com/tag/india/

https://phet.colorado.edu - Stimulation of Math, Physics, Chemistry, Biology !

https://ptable.com/#Properties Chemistry's PERIODIC TABLE online!

Google Maps alternative:

Bing Maps - https://www.bing.com/maps
https://www.petalmaps.com - developed by Huawei

Yandex Maps - https://yandex.com/maps/

Apple Maps for iOS users

Waze - https://www.waze.com

Here WeGo - https://wego.here.com/ (⇐ Ovi Maps ⇐ Nokia Maps)

OsmAnd - https://osmand.net [It stands for OpenStreetMap Automated Navigation Directions. It is a popular open-source, offline mobile mapping and navigation application for Android and iOS that utilizes data from OpenStreetMap (OSM).]

Mappls - from MapMyIndia for India - https://www.mappls.com/

RIL's JioXplor - beyond maps, AI based location services.

Get more app details from my 2023 post on Windows 11: https://drrdb.blogspot.com/2023/02/windows-11-experience-issues-and-how-to.html

Photography Kits by the Smartphones - A New Level to Mobile Photography

2026-04-30T00:34:00.000+05:30

I can't recall the date, but in 2023 Xiaomi first unveiled the photography kit for its Xiaomi 13 Ultra in China. (Ok now checked it was 18th April, 2023). This original release marked the first time a smartphone manufacturer offered a dedicated, branded eco-system package to transform a phone into a traditional camera body.

That first first-party Photography Kit introduced - Camera inspired Grip with Bluetooth connectivity to the smartphone, 67mm Filter Adapter Ring, Premium Nano-skin Case, Custom metal Lens Cap and Lanyard - and thus laid the groundwork for future photography kit for the smartphones.

The evolution of Xiaomi’s first-party photography kits shows a clear shift from basic wireless controls to zero-latency, high-power modular systems.

The core differences in connection type, latency, and features across the Xiaomi 13 Ultra, 14 Ultra, and 15 Ultra kits highlight how the hardware has evolved:

Features	Xiaomi 13 Ultra Kit (2023)	Xiaomi 14 Ultra Kit (2024)	Xiaomi 15 Ultra Kit (2025)
Connection Type	Wireless (Bluetooth)	Physical (USB-C / Type-C)	Physical (USB-C / Type-C)
Operational Latency	Low (Minor wireless delay)	Zero Latency (Instantaneous)	Zero Latency (Instantaneous)
Internal Grip Battery	330 mAh	1,500 mAh	2,000 mAh
Charges the Phone?	No (Powers grip controls only)	Yes (Supplements phone battery)	Yes (Supplements phone battery)
Physical Controls	Shutter button, Zoom toggle	Shutter, Zoom lever, Custom dial, Video button	Shutter, Zoom lever, Custom dial, Video button
Filter Thread Support	67mm Adapter Ring	67mm Adapter Ring	67mm Adapter Ring
Ergonomic Upgrades	Leather case, Wrist strap	Quick-release chassis, Custom rings	Detachable Thumb Support screw

In December, 2025 the company announced the accessory line of Xiaomi 17 Ultra into two entirely distinct options:

A. standard Bluetooth Photography Kit

B. advanced Photography Kit Pro.

The advanced Xiaomi 17 Ultra Photography Kit Pro serves as the direct spiritual successor to the Xiaomi 15 Ultra Legend Edition kit, offering refined physical control mapping and structural upgrades. While Standard kit comes with Bluetooth connectivity and just 270 mAh grip power without phone battery supplements.

vivo
the BBK-backed giant like Oppo, OnePlus, iQoo, Realme

Later Vivo did with their X-series photography centric smartphones (from X200 Ultra), but only the lens with 200mm telephoto capability. Amazon India lists it on https://www.amazon.in/vivo_X300-Telephoto-Extender_-Additional-Offers/dp/B0G39JYDRM but presently not available.

Due in May 2026 for India launch, vivo X300 Ultra includes an eye-popping 400mm telephoto lens attachment which can be bought separately. vivo x300 Ultra is launched with vivo ZEISS Telephoto Extender Gen 2 (200mm), vivo ZEISS Telephoto Extender Gen 2 Ultra (400mm) and vivo Imaging Grip Kit (equipped with built-in, non-detachable 2300mAh rechargeable battery).

vivo X200 Ultra kit: Furper

Oppo plans to launch similar for their Find X9 Pro. Infact they launched OPPO Hasselblad Teleconverter Kit (costs Rs 30K approx) - which does not have a camera inspired grip but features:

A massive 300mm focal length teleconverter external lens (featuring an f/2.2 aperture),
A premium, ultra-slim aramid fiber/metal protective case (that features integrated MagSafe-style magnetic arrays and structural divots around the camera bump)
Dedicated lens collar support featuring standard 1/4-inch tripod threads
Alloy adapter ring that supports 67mm professional camera filters
Specialized case (lacks a massive DSLR-like detached battery grip handle) itself features a two-stage physical camera shutter button and built-in zoom toggle tabs. It connects via low-latency Bluetooth and features its own dedicated USB-C port solely for recharging the internal case battery

It was available on Reliance Digital: https://www.reliancedigital.in/product/oppo-hasselblad-teleconverter-kit-for-find-x9-pro-black-mix48g-9673472

And something more is brewing at Oppo Community - Tilta Khronos Creator Kit for OPPO Find X9 Ultra.

Link: https://community.oppo.com/thread/2156231555331129349

Nubia, another Chinese company also has their own photography kit for Z80.

And Realme Ultra - a concept phone was unveiled at MWC 2025 featuring a specialized camera module that supports interchangeable lenses.

Last but not the least, REEFLEX (https://reeflexstore.com) introduces hopping 300-600mm smartphone lens - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/reeflex/capture-the-unreachable-reeflex-telephoto-300600mm-lens/creator

Amazon Prime Plan Details (April 2026)

2026-04-04T03:30:00.005+05:30

In India Amazon Prime was offered initially at Rs 999 for shopping & Prime Video. Later it was revised to Rs 1499 for a year (in 2021). In India, Prime Membership includes FREE same-day/1-day delivery on 40 lakh+ products, access to exclusive deals, early access to shopping events, exclusive access to our shopping event Prime Day; and unlimited access to award-winning movies & TV shows with Prime Video, unlimited access to 100+ million songs, ad-free with Amazon Music, a free rotating selection of 3,000+ books, magazines and comics with Prime Reading, access to free in-game content and benefits with Prime Gaming.

As on April 2026, Amazon India offers Prime plans as follows:

Prime

Prime offers 4K video on upto 5 devices (TV/Mobile/laptop) + Shopping perks + Amazon Music + Prime Reading + Prime Gaming

Prime Lite

Prime Lite offers HD video on 1 device (TV/Mobile) + Shopping perks

Prime Shopping

Only Shopping Perks

1 Month at Rs ~~179~~ 299*

3 Months at Rs ~~459~~ 599*

12 Months at Rs 1499

*2023 revision

**Starting June 17, 2025, in India, Amazon Prime Video includes "limited advertisements" in movies and TV shows, aiming for 4-6 minutes per hour. Prime members must pay an extra monthly fee to watch ad-free, with the ad-free, with the ad-free option in India priced at ₹129/month or ₹699/year.

12 Months at Rs 799

Not includes Amazon Music, Prime Reading, or Prime Gaming.

*With Prime Lite membership, Customer gets access to all the content (HD only) on Amazon Prime Video application on 1 device (TV/Mobile), access to all Amazon Prime shopping events, one-day shipping and additional benefits and offers, made available by Amazon from time to time.

**Jio offers Prime Lite for selected Prepaid plans.

12 Months at Rs ~~499~~ 399

Includes only shopping benefits. These members can not upgrade to Prime Lite.

Prime Shopping users are getting full Prime membership at Rs 999 for first year, next year onwards it's Rs 1499.

Updated on 04.04.2026.

The post was done to compare future revisions.

Reference Sites for Anaesthesiology & Critical Care

2026-03-07T11:50:00.044+05:30

There are several online learning hub for Anesthesiologists and Intensivists. Anesthesia as a branch of modern medicine has been expanded a lot - it now covers pain medicine, critical care medicine, perioperative medicine and what not, as most critically ill patients land on ICU.

The list is not complete.

This post also contains recommended books for Anesthesiology PG course.

★ marked sites are already checked by me. These sites have good contents for doctors practicing critical care medicine, perioperative medicine, pain medicine and anesthesiology. Also this post contains links of related CME programs, study guides etc.

★ Life is the fast lane: https://litfl.com >> great resource / practical updates for critical care medicine.

★ The Airway Jedi https://airwayjedi.com

Critical Care Prospective in Emergency Medicine: https://ccpem.blog/posts/

https://openairway.org

https://anaesthesianews.wordpress.com

https://dnbanaesthesia.blogspot.com/

https://dnbanaesthesia.blogspot.com/2014/07/topic-wise-anaesthesia-previous_27.html

https://emcrit.org

Indian Society of Anaesthesiologists: https://www.isaweb.in/home

American Society of Anesthesiologists: https://www.asahq.org

European Society of Anesthesiology & Intensive Care : https://esaic.org Home of EDIC Exam

Indian Society of Critical Care Medicine (ISCCM) https://www.isccm.org Home of IDCCM (Indian Diploma in CCM - https://www.isccm.org/College/IDCCM/

IDCCM/MD/DNB/EDIC Preparation: 360criticalcare.com

https://www.anesthesiahub.com

https://anesthguide.com

anesthguide.com/topic/pacemaker/

Indian Society of Intensive Care and Perioperative Medicine - https://www.isicpm.com

https://www.isicpmwb.com/index.php

https://www.ambu.com/airway-management-and-anaesthesia

Academy Of Regional Anaesthesia Of India - https://www.aoraindia.com/fellowship-of-aora

All India Difficult Airway Association - aidaa.in, https://www.aidaa.in/products.html

https://www.isaweb.in/programs/isa-academics - YT lectures

Youtube Channels - ABCs of Anaesthesia, ICU Advantage, Nysora, ISA Kerala State Chapter, Max Feinstein

#more

https://geekymedics.com

https://www.drazam.com/notes - Dr Azam's notes - different systems @ Rs 1000 each

https://www.onlineanesthesiatools.com

https://www.onlineanesthesiatools.com/clinical-examination-methods

https://resources.wfsahq.org/update-in-anaesthesia/

https://resources.wfsahq.org/atotw/basic-echocardiography-in-the-icu-part-1/

https://resources.wfsahq.org/atotw/basic-echocardiography-in-the-icu-part-2/

ATS Breathe Easy Podcasts: https://site.thoracic.org/podcast/breathe-easy

ResusX: https://www.resusx.com

Critical Care Time: https://www.criticalcaretime.com

★ Pulm Peeps: https://www.pulmpeeps.com

One Pager ICU: Onepagericu.com

The Bottom Line: thebottomline.co.uk

Rebel EM: rebelem.com

NEJM - https://www.nejm.org | https://clinician.nejm.org

JAMA Critical Care https://jamanetwork.com/collections/5584/critical-care-medicine

JAMA Pulmonology https://jamanetwork.com/collections/5877/pulmonary-medicine

Block Guru https://pajunk.com/us/company/news/detail/the-block-guru-app/

-----

Books must for Anesthesia study in MD/DNB/DA course

Miller's Anesthesia - the bible, use it for reference & pharmacology (vs Stoelting's Pharma for Anesthesiology) (Other pharma books: Tom Peck) (alt to Miller: Aitkenhead's Textbook of Anesthesia)

Barash - Clinical Anesthesia

Rashid Khan's Airway (Alt: Hagbag & Benumof's Airway Management)

Peter Kam's Principles of Physiology for Anesthesiologists

The ICU Book - Paul Marino + Irwin & Rippes

Obestric Anesthesia: Shnider & Levinson's + Chestnut's

Pediatric anesthesia: Rebecca + Smith + Cote & Lerman

Regional anesthesia: Hadzic' Peripheral Nerve Blocks...

Anesthesia Equipments: Understanding Anesthetic Equipment & Procedures: A Practical Approach + Understanding Anesthesia Equipment by Dorsch

Ventilation: Chang's + Pilbeam's + Egan's Fundamentals for Respiratory Care

Anesthesiologist's Manual of Surgical Procedures by Jaff

------

CORE EM: https://coreem.net

Learn about Antibiotics: https://www.antibioticexplorer.com Subscription based!

https://human.biodigital.com - 3D Videos/Images

collegofcriticalcare.com - FCCCM, AFIC or, icueducation.com

SEPRECON https://www.seprecon.in/

Airwa Management Foundation - https://amf.org.in

AIIMS CRE DV Specialist Anesthesia Study Material

https://examinspect.com/products/aiims-cre-dv-specialist-anesthesia-study-material

Tata Memorial Centre Anesthesiology Preparation Book

https://examinspect.com/products/tata-memorial-centre-anesthesiology-preparation-book

NEET SS Anaesthesiology Preparation Book: https://closecampus.com/products/neet-ss-anaesthesiology-preparation-book

Diplomate of the American Board of Lifestyle Medicine https://ablm.org/eligibility-prerequisites/

farzacademy.com - MRCP I, II, EDIC

https://www.diginerve.com/courses/postgrad/cracking-mrcp-part-1 - MRCP I

https://www.dr-mustafazakaria.org/anaestesia-free-pdf-books/

Cureus.com

https://booksmedicos.org

Indian Diabetes & Cardiometabolic Disease Association : https://idcm.co.in

Jio, OneWeb & Starlink Granted Unified License for GMPCS

2026-01-31T13:54:00.013+05:30

In the latest development of India's satcom market, country's Department of Telecom (DoT) has issued Unified License (UL) with authorisation for GMPCS (Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite) service for national service area to 3 companies: OneWeb India Communications Private Limited, JIO Satellite Communications Limited, and Starlink Satellite Communications Private Limited, as informed by Minister of State for Communications and Rural Development, Dr Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar in Rajya Sabha on 29th January, 2026.

DoT is presenting examining application from Amazon Kuiper Services India Private Limited (presently Amazon LEO) while rejected application from Tata-backed Nelco Limited and Hiranandani Group-backed Yotta Network Services Private Limited whereas Connect4sure Technologies Private Limited has withdrawn its application.

NELCO (National Radio & Electronics Company Limited), established in 1940 and backed by Tata Group is already in talks with multiple LEO players - in 2025, August, Nelco partnered with Eutelsat to offer OneWeb's LEO based satellite internet services. With rejection of Nelco's application to entry into India's upcoming satellite internet market the deal's future remains doubtful.

But we are not seeing satellite internet soon as only Starlink out of 3 companies are already in the business. OneWeb and Jio Satellite are yet to launch the fully commercial services anywhere in the world.

Starlink is upgrading its satellite constellation, as the new Gen 2 constellation is significant upgrade from Gen 1 constellation. New upgrade offers better speed (from 50-100Mbps to 100-200+Mbps), better latency (20-40ms to 20-30ms), Direct-to-device (D2D) and improved user hardware (wide angle dish yet lighter and smaller with removable cable, low power utilization, wide operating temperature range).

Starlink applied for both Gen 1 and Gen 2 to IN-SPACe 3-4 years back. Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) granted approval for only the Gen 1 constellation, which offers traditional broadband services through its 4,408 low earth orbit (LEO) satellites. Approval for Gen 2 was rejected as Gen 2 uses certain frequency bands which are not permitted in India. Also D2D connectivity was so unique at that time, no regulatory framework was there. As technology develops, IN-SPACe wants Starlink to reapply for Gen 2 satellite connectivity.

Direct-to-cell satellite service has been an interesting thing in the global cellular market. For eg, Japan, a country known for many firsts in telecom, saw first such service by KDDI's AU in April 2025. KDDI-backed au has been using Starlink's service to offer D2D services [AU Starlink Direct], while NTT Docomo and SoftBank have plans for similar services in partnership with Starlink too. Fourth telco Rakuten Mobile is in talks with AST SpaceMobile to enable D2D in their portfolio.

As per the latest report on the global status of 5G non-terrestrial, networks (NTN) and satellite connectivity from the GSA has revealed that satellite connectivity is moving from niche to mainstream, whether in rural broadband or direct-to-cell use cases, with 225 publicly announced operator–satellite partnerships in 88 countries – of these, 34 operators have launched commercial services in 25 countries (as of February 2026). The study also shows Starlink leading the satellite landscape with 44 partnerships, followed by AST SpaceMobile and Lynk, while in spectrum Ka-band remains most widely used frequency range, supporting both feeder and service links.

GSA Global data for Satellite to Device services (Feb, '26)

Brief details of different satellite internet companies:

Satellite Company	Indian connection	Notes
Starlink (owned by SpaceX)	Both Jio and Airtel have deal with Starlink to offer their services in India.	On the LEO (low earth orbit) market Starlink is enjoying ultimate monopoly – with 9,422+ satellites serving 9+ million subscribers across 155+ countries.
Eutelsat OneWeb	Airtel’s parent company Bharti Enterprises, through its space arm Bharti Space Ltd, holds approx. 18% of the entity.	Eutelsat Konnect (GEO) and OneWeb (LEO) will work together to complement each other. It is also a part of European Union's IRIS2 (Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite) network, which aims Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite) is the European Union's multi-orbit satellite constellation designed to provide sovereign, secure, and resilient communication services. IRIS2 is managed via a 12-year concession contract with SpaceRISE (a consortium of SES, Eutelsat, and Hispasat) in partnership with the European Commission, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA).
Orbit Connect India	Orbit is the 51:49 joint venture between Reliance Jio Platforms and Luxembourg-based SES S.A. (Société Européenne des Satellites/European Satellite Society).	SES is already offering satellite internet with their MEO/GEO satellites. They are actively incorporating LEO capabilities through strategic partnerships (eg: with Starlink) and specialized projects. SES invested in Lynk Global, a Virginia based company with goals to make telecom towers in space (similar to AST SpaceMobile). SES also invested in Omnispace, who is building a hybrid 5G non-terrestrial network (NTN) since 2012. Lynk Global and Omnispace plans to merge to use Omnispace’s 60 megahertz of S-band spectrum with Lynk’s D2D platform, which is currently providing intermittent messaging and alert services in a handful of island nations with five small satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO). As of early 2026, Lynk Global has 6 LEO satellites in orbit.
Amazon LEO (previously Project Kuipers)	So far no Indian company has been linked with A-LEO.	It plans limited rollout in 5 countries by mid-2026. LEO wants to offer global coverage with just 3,236 LEO satellites by 2030.
AST SpaceMobile	Vodafone UK is strategic partner of AST, thus Vi also plans to offer its services if regulator approval granted.	AST is different than other LEO/GEO/MEO satellite companies, as they want to connect the satellites to mobile directly.
Viasat (HQ: California)	In January 2026, Viasat announced a collaboration with BSNL to modernise the Indian Navy's satellite communications (SATCOM), aiming to enhance security and resilience for naval operations. In 2023, Viasat acquired Inmarsat. Inmarsat offers unique solution NexusWave – fully managed bonded connectivity solution (GEO Ka-band + LEO + LTE + L-band) for an office-like and home-like internet experience at sea.	Viasat provides in-flight connectivity for over 60 airlines worldwide. Viasat & Space42 are set to form Equatys to offer D2D services (similar to AST SpaceMobile) using L-band and S-band mobile satellite spectrum. Equatys is considered as neutral towerco in space. UAE operator e& (Etisalat and) would be the first operator to explore using Equatys for D2D services. Abu Dhabi based Space42 was formed by merger of Yahsat (which offers Thuraya mobile satellite network) and Bayanat in 2024.
HughesNet, operated by Hughes Network Systems, Parent company: EchoStar	No such As of now, HughesNet is limited to North American only with its 3 GEO JUPITER satellites. To boost its connectivity HughesNet is to use the OneWeb LEO constellation.	US company Echostar is the company behind DISH Network. Echostar acquired Hughes in 2011.
Telesat LightSpeed	No such	Telesat Canada was founded by Canada government in 1969. In 1998 it was privatized and sold to Bell Canada. Loral Space & Communications Inc. acquired Telesat in 2007. It has plans to enter into the market in 2027 with LEO satellites.
Globalstar	No such	The Globalstar project was launched in 1991 as a joint venture of Loral Corporation and Qualcomm. From 2000 Globalstar has been offering LEO satcom services with their 48+ satellites. Apple holds 20% stake in Globalstar since 2024. In April 2026, Amazon announced to acquire Globalstar. FCC approval came in late October, 2026.

চুঁচুড়ার ঘণ্টাঘাট এবং ঘণ্টা গির্জার গল্প

2026-01-31T05:04:00.013+05:30

আগেই বলেছি যে কলকাতা থেকে 25-50 কিলোমিটার দূরত্বে হুগলী নদীর ধার ঘেঁষে গড়ে উঠেছিল একাধিক ইউরোপীয় বাণিজ্যকেন্দ্র তথা উপনিবেশ - বারাকপুরে ব্রিটিশরা, উল্টোদিকে শ্রীরামপুরে ড্যানিশরা, তার উত্তরে চন্দননগরে ফরাসীরা, চুঁচুড়াতে ডাচ বা ওলন্দাজরা, এবং ব্যাণ্ডেলে পর্তুগীজরা।

আজকের গল্প চুঁচুড়া ফেরিঘাটের একটু উত্তরে ঘণ্টাঘাট নিয়ে। এই ঘাটে কি ঘণ্টা ছিল? কোথায় গেল সেই ঘণ্টা?

1602 সালে ডাচরা গঠন করে De Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie (VOC) অর্থাৎ “ইউনাইটেড ডাচ ইস্ট ইন্ডিয়া কোম্পানি” (United Dutch East India Company) - যার উদ্দেশ্য ছিল ভারতীয় উপমহাদেশ তথা দক্ষিণ এশিয়ায় বাণিজ্য সম্প্রসারণ। 1604 সালে ডাচেরা মালাবারে পা রাখে। আরো পরে তিনটি জাহাজ নিয়ে 1622 সালে হুগলী অঞ্চলে ঘুরে যায় তারা। তবে 1638 সালে মোগল সম্রাট শাহজাহানের ফরমান নিয়ে ডাচেরা এই হুগলী-চুঁচুড়ায় স্থিতু হয়। ধীরে ধীরে ডাচরা গড়ে তোলে তাদের ব্যবসাকেন্দ্র, কারখানা, বসতবাড়ি।

Jan Albert Sichterman

1742 সালে চুঁচুড়ার ডাচ আধিকারিক Jan Albert Sichterman একটি চার্চের সূচনা করেন, মূল মিনারটি (tower) তাঁর আমলেই গঠিত হয়। 1744-এ এই মিনারটির উপরে বুরূজটি (steeple) এবং ঘন্টা ঘড়িটি (Belfry) প্রতিষ্ঠিত হয়। যদিও Sichterman এই চার্চের প্রতিষ্ঠা দেখে যেতে পারেননি। তাঁর উত্তরসূরী Sir Goerge Vernet এই চার্চের স্থাপন করেন 1767-তে (বা 1785-এ)। এই মিনারটি প্রায় 40 ফুট উচুঁ ছিল।

The Church, Ghantaghat and 'Residence of a Rich Baboo' (now the Mohsin College), by Marianne Jane James (1828) | British Library

The Old Dutch Church, Chinsurah; a hand-colored photo by Frederick Fiebig (1858)

The Old Dutch Church Premises; a photo by Frederick Fiebig (1851)

তবে চার্চ গঠন হলেও এখানে কোন পাদ্রী (clergyman) নিযুক্ত ছিলেন না, বরং সেদিক থেকে ভাবলে শুরুর দিকে ডাচরা ধর্ম নিয়ে অতটা উৎসাহী ছিলেন না। চার্চে প্রার্থনা করানোর জন্য ডাকা হত zekentrooster-কে (comforter of the sick, not from a holy order), বিশিষ্ট অনুষ্ঠানে কলকাতা থেকে কোন পাদ্রীবাবাকে ভাড়া করে আনা হত।

তবে 1787 সাল নাগাদ এই চার্চে সুইডেনের এক প্রোটেস্ট্যান্ট পাদরী, রেভারেণ্ড Johann Zachariah Kiernander (1710-1799) এসে যুক্ত হন। এই ভদ্রলোক কিন্তু যে সে ব্যক্তি ছিলেন না। কলকাতায় আজকের 'ওল্ড মিশন চার্চ' (বা Beth Tephillah, হিব্রুতে যার অর্থ প্রার্থনাগৃহ) এঁনার হাতেই গড়া। বাংলায় উইলিয়ম কেরী আসছেন আরো পরে - 1793 সালে। সেই অর্থে বাংলায় প্রথম মিশনারী কিন্তু এই যোহান জাকারিয়া কিরনান্দের সাহেব।

প্রথমে ভারতে এসে মাদ্রাজ প্রেসিডেন্সির অধীনে Cuddlelore শহরে মিশনারী কাজকর্ম শুরু করেন। এখানে কিরনান্দের সাহেব ছিলেন প্রায় 17 বছর, কিন্তু ফরাসীরা এই এলাকার দখল নিলে তাঁর মিশনারী কাজকর্মে বাধা পড়ে। 1758 সালে রবার্ট ক্লাইভের অনুরোধে কিরনান্দের সাহেব এলেন কলকাতায়। পলাশী যুদ্ধের পরে কলকাতা তখন আস্তে আস্তে স্বাভাবিক হচ্ছে, ব্রিটিশদের সংখ্যা বাড়ছে। গভর্নরের সহায়তায় কিরনান্দের পেলেন বিনামূল্যে থাকার বাড়ি এবং শুরু করলেন সোসাইটি ফর প্রমোটিং খ্রিস্টান নলেজের হয়ে মিশনারী কাজকর্ম। 1756 সালে নবাব সিরাজ দৌল্লার কলকাতা আক্রমণে কলকাতায় প্রোটেস্টান্ট চার্চটি ধ্বংস হয়ে গেছিল। কিরনান্দের সাহেব কলকাতা আসার আরও 9 বছর বাদে, 1767-তে নিজের উদ্যোগে জমি কিনে শুরু করলেন একটি প্রোটেস্টান্ট চার্চ গড়ে তোলার কাজ, যা 1770 সালে শেষ হয়। এরই নাম ছিল Beth Tephillah, যা পরে 'ওল্ড মিশন চার্চ' নামে পরিচিত হয়। এক সময়ে এই গির্জাটির রঙ ছিল লাল, ফলে অনেকেই একে লাল গির্জা বলত। চুঁচুড়ার গল্প বলতে এসে কলকাতার গির্জা নিয়ে অনেক কিছু বলে ফেলছি, কিন্তু আরেকটা কথা না বলে থামতে পারছি না। ১৮৪৩ সালের ৯ ফেব্রুয়ারি এই গির্জাতেই মাত্র 19 বছর বয়সে খ্রিষ্টধর্ম গ্রহণ করেন মাইকেল মধুসূদন দত্ত।

Johann Zachariah Kiernander

তবে কিরনান্দের সাহেব যখন চুঁচুড়াতে এলেন, তখন তিনি তাঁর জীবনের স্বর্ণযুগ পেরিয়ে এসেছেন। 77 বছর বয়স তখন, চোখেও কম দেখতে পান, কলকাতা বিভিন্ন মামলায় জড়িয়ে অর্থকষ্টে ভুগছেন - এই ঘণ্টা গির্জার চ্যাপলিন হিসেবে ছিলেন 1795 অবধি, মাসে পেতেন 25 টাকা। 1795-তে ইংরেজরা কিছু সময়ের জন্য চুঁচুড়ার দখল নেয়, কিরনান্দের হয়ে যান ডাচ যুদ্ধবন্দী, তবে এই সময়ে মাসে 50 টাকা করে পেতেন তিনি। 1799-তে তিনি ফেরত যান কলকাতাতে, এবং সেই বছরেই কলকাতাতেই মারা যান।

1821 সালে নেদারল্যাণ্ড মিশনারী সোসাইটি থেকে চুঁচুড়া এসেছিলেন Rev Francis Lacroix, তাঁর লেখায়, “The church, an antiquated building, of no definite style of architecture, stood… on the bank of the river. Its tower alone was built first to bear the settlement clock; the part adapted for worship being added twenty-five years after…”

এই গির্জার উঁচু চূঁড়া নিয়ে একসময়ে এক মজার কবিতা লোকের মুখে মুখে ঘুরত - "কে বলে রে জটাইবুড়ি গিয়েছিল বৃন্দাবন/ ঘন্টাঘাটের গির্জে দেখে বলে গিরি গোবর্ধন।"

1825 সালে চুঁচুড়া ব্রিটিশ অধীনে এলে এই চার্চটি কলকাতার বিশপের অধীনে চলে যায়। এতদিন ধরে এই চার্চটি স্থানীয় ডাচম্যান এবং মিশনারীদের প্রার্থনা এবং মিশনারীর কাজে ব্যবহৃত হত বলে এই চার্চটি তাদের কাছে খুব কাছের একটি জিনিস ছিল। ফলে এই পরিবর্তন স্থানীয় ডাচম্যান এবং মিশনারীদের কাছে খুবই দুঃখের ব্যাপার ছিল। রেভারেণ্ড Lacroix লিখেছেন, “The station having passed to the English Government; the church was handed over to the Established Church of England. The missionaries, who had gratuitously supplied religious instruction within its walls for twenty years, ceased their ministrations; and the Dutch inhabitants, and others, were compelled to leave a building which they regarded as their own…”

ডাচদের বানানো ফোর্ট গুস্তাভাস ভেঙ্গে ফেললেও এই চার্চটি ব্রিটিশরা ব্যবহার করতে শুরু করে। ১৮৬৪ সালের ৫-ই অক্টোবর এক সাইক্লোনে এই চার্চটির ঘণ্টাসহ চূড়াটি ভেঙ্গে পড়ে। এবং এর পর থেকেই এই চার্চের প্রতি অবহেলা শুরু হয়। কারণ ১৮২৫ সালে ব্রিটিশরা আজকের ঘড়ির মোড়ে একটি ফ্রি চার্চ বানায়, যেটি এখনও আছে। অবস্থানগত দিক থেকে এই 'চুঁচুড়া চার্চ' বা 'Chinsurah Church'-টি ছিল শহরের প্রায় মাঝখানে, ফলে লোকে এখানেই বেশি আসতে শুরু করে। পরে এটি United Church of North India-এর অন্তর্ভুক্ত হয়, এবং আরো পরে ১৯৭০-এর দশকে চার্চ অফ নর্থ ইণ্ডিয়ার (C.N.I. or Church of North India) অন্তর্ভুক্ত হয়।

যাই হোক ১৯৫০-এ UCNI ঘণ্টাঘাটের চার্চটিকে পশ্চিমবঙ্গ সরকারের কাছে বিক্রি করে দেয়, কারণ it was “no longer required”। এর ঠিক আগেই, ভারতের স্বাধীনতার পর, অবশ্য এই চার্চে থাকা বিভিন্ন ডাচ গর্ভনরের স্মৃতিচিহ্নগুলি (memorial hatchments) এবং তাঁদের সপত্নীক তৈলচিত্র সহ বিভিন্ন ঐতিহাসিক জিনিসপত্র কলকাতার বিশপের উদ্যোগে নেদারল্যাণ্ডসের রাজধানী আমস্টারডামের জাতীয় জাদুঘর Rijksmuseum-এ স্থানান্তরিত করা হয়ে গেছিল।

যাইহোক তৎকালীন রাজ্য সরকার এই চার্চবাড়িটিকে কোনমতে সংস্কার করে মহসীন কলেজকে তাদের জীবনবিজ্ঞান ল্যাব হিসেবে ব্যবহার করতে দেয়। এই সংস্কারের ফলে চার্চের গায়ে থাকা বিভিন্ন লেখাগুলি প্রায় পুরোপুরি মুছে যায়। ১৯৭০-এ বাংলায় ছাত্র আন্দোলন শুরু হলে এই বাড়িটি আস্তে আস্তে অব্যবহারে একটি পোড়ো বাড়িতে পরিণত হয়। সময়ের সাথে সাথে এই চার্চবাড়ির লোহার বিম, জানলা-দরজার রঙবেরঙের কাঁচ এবং অন্যান্য অনেক নিদর্শন চুরি হয়ে যায়। এই সময় সরকার সিদ্ধান্ত নেয় যে এই বাড়িটি ভেঙ্গে এই জায়গায় মহসীন কলেজের আইন বিভাগের কলেজ গড়ে তোলা হবে। ১৯৮০ সালে এই চার্চবাড়ি ভাঙ্গার সিদ্ধান্তের প্রতিবাদে চুঁচুড়ার এক ভদ্রলোক - হৃদয় রঞ্জন হালদার কলকাতা হাই কোর্টে মামলা ঠোকেন। এর স্বপক্ষে থাকার জন্য চুঁচুড়ার খ্রিশ্চান সম্প্রদায় এবং ভারতের সব পাদ্রীকে চিঠিও লিখলেন। কিন্তু এই 'কে এক' হালদার বাবুকে কেউ বিশেষ পাত্তাও দেননি। ফলে পুরো ব্যাপারটি হয়ে গেল, একা কুম্ভ রক্ষা করে নকল বুঁদিগড়। পয়সাকড়িরও সমস্যা ছিল, বৃদ্ধ হালদারবাবুও চুঁচুড়া থেকে কলকাতায় নিয়মিত যেতে পারছিলেন না। ফলে কোর্টের রায় এলো সরকারের অনুকূলেই, ভাঙ্গা শুরু হল চুঁচুড়ার ডাচ চার্চটি। ১৯৮৮ সালে নেদারল্যাণ্ডস দূতাবাস থেকে কিছু খোঁজ খবর নেওয়া হয়েছিল, যে আর্থিক সাহায্য করে চার্চটিকে রক্ষণাবেক্ষণ করা যায় কিনা। দূতাবাস থেকে ফার্স্ট সেক্রেটারি এসে দেখলেন কিছু দেওয়াল ছাড়া চার্চবাড়িটির আর কিছু অবশিষ্ট নেই। সবথেকে দুঃখের ব্যাপার হল এই চূড়াসহ ঘন্টাটি এতদিন চার্চের পাশের জমিতেই পড়েছিল, চার্চ ভাঙ্গার পর সেটির হদিশ আর পাওয়া যায়নি। সম্ভবত এই ভাঙ্গাচোরার পর সেটি বিক্রি হয়ে যায় এবং গলিয়ে ফেলা হয়।

2009 সালে এই জায়গায় একটি সার্কিট হাউস গড়ে তোলা হয়। বলা বাহুল্য মহসীন কলেজের আইন বিভাগের বাড়িটি আর বানানোই হয়নি। 2017 সালে নেদারল্যাণ্ডসের দূতাবাস এবং স্থানীয় প্রশাসনের তরফে একটি স্মৃতিস্মারক গির্জা বানানো হবে বলে চিন্তাভাবনা করা হয়েছিল। আজ প্রায় ৯ বছর হয়ে গেছে সেই ভাবনা কাগজেই রয়ে গেছে।

আজকে ঘণ্টাঘাট - ডানদিকে দূরে দেখা যাচ্ছে,
আর ওলন্দাজ গির্জার জায়গায় গড়ে উঠেছে হুগলির সার্কিট হাউস

এতো গেল ঘণ্টাঘাটের গির্জার গল্প। আর এই ঘাট ? - এই চার্চ বানানোর অনেক আগেই ১৭২৫ সালে এই স্নানের ঘাটটি বানিয়ে দেন স্থানীয় ধনী ব্যবসায়ী নৃসিংহ দাস মল্লিক। ছোট জগন্নাথ বাড়িটিও তাঁরই বানানো।

তবে আজও ঘন্টাঘাট তার নামটি ধরে রেখেছে, বিকেল সন্ধ্যেতে শহরের মানুষজন এসে গঙ্গার হাওয়া খান, আড্ডায় মজেন। অবশ্য তাদের ক'জনই বা এই ঘাটের গৌরবময় অতীত সম্পর্কে জানেন?

তথ্যসূত্রঃ

https://www.peepultree.world/livehistoryindia/story/amazing-india/ghantaghar-church-chinsurah

https://hooghlyheritage.wordpress.com/2015/08/20/চুঁচুড়া-চার্চ-chinsurah-church-c-n-i/

https://talesofhomeland.blogspot.com/2021/09/ghantaghar-lost-church-of-chinsurah.html

http://lokfolk.blogspot.com/2013/08/hughli-soptagram.html

Dutch Colony in Chinsurah, Dutch Church in Chinsurah, Dutches in Chuchura,

ISRO's 100th Orbital Launch Marks Highest Payload Lift with AST SpaceMobile's BlueBird 6

2025-12-25T02:18:00.004+05:30

Vodafone UK's satellite partner AST SpaceMobile has sent their BlueBird Block-2 communication satellite into its intended Low Earth Orbit with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)'s LVM3-M6 rocket on 24th December 2025. BlueBird Block-2 satellites, including BlueBird 6, feature a massive 2,400 square foot (223 m²) communication array, weighing in at 6,100 kilograms, was the heaviest payload that the LVM3 has ever launched into LEO. ISRO's commercial arm, New Space India Ltd (NSIL) facilitated the commercial agreement between ISRO and AST SpaceMobile.

While ISRO firmly maintains its stand of global satellite launch market with 6th mission of LVM3, it also marks the completion of 100 orbital launches. The LVM3 launch vehicle (Launch Vehicle Mark-3, formerly GSLV MkIII), developed by ISRO, is a three-stage rocket comprising two solid strap-on motors (S200), a liquid core stage (L110) and a cryogenic upper stage (C25). With a lift-off mass of 640 tonnes and a height of 43.5 metres, the vehicle is capable of carrying up to 4,200 kg to Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit.

Previously Chandrayaan-2 (2019) and Chandrayaan-3 (2023) was launched by LVM3, the flagship national space program. LVM3 was also used by OneWeb satellite launches twice - placed 72 satellites in the orbit. The fifth LVM3 mission, LVM3-M5/CMS-03, was successfully completed on November 2, 2025.

However it's not the first time AST SpaceMobile worked with ISRO. In 2019 ISRO's PSLV-C45 rocket launched AST SpaceMobile's first experimental satellite, BlueWalker 1, from Satish Dhawan Space Centre.

AST SpaceMobile's approach is different from Starlink, as AST wants to connect your smartphones with satellites. And for that AST has been partnered with more than 40 telecom companies across the world including AT&T, Verizon, Vodafone, Rakuten, Google, American Tower, Bell, and STC Group.

AST SpaceMobile informed that it is on track to launch 45-60 satellites by the end of 2026, with launches planned every one or two months on average.

India's third largest mobile operator, Vi (Vodafone Idea Pvt Ltd) had entered into strategic partnership with AST SpaceMobile in June 2025 to bring together Vi's robust national 2G/4G/5G network with AST SpaceMobile's revolutionary space-based cellular technology, which connects directly to unmodified smartphones without the need of any specialized software or device support or updates.

As AST SpaceMobile's constellation is growing, on the occasion of launch of BlueBird 6, Vi CEO Mr. Abhijit Kishore shared his excitement, “We are excited to bring the Vi-AST partnership to India and believe it will mark the beginning of transformative impact in bridging the connectivity to the unconnected parts of India. It will open up a world of new possibilities, greater inclusivity and unlock opportunities for millions of Indians.”

It should be noted that Vi's parent company Vodafone UK is a long term partner of AST SpaceMobile and for AST SpaceMobile India is a priority market, as Texas (US)-based satcom company opened up an office at in Salarpuria Sattva Knowledge City, Hyderbad in July 2023. The office is headed by Narayana Pidugu, a veteran of the technology and space industries.

If you follow satcom closely, you already know that Airtel's parent company Bharti has share in Eutelsat OneWeb and Jio formed Jio Space Technology Ltd with Luxembourg's satellite operator SES. Not only that both Jio and Airtel have partnered with Elon Musk's SpaceX to offer Starlink satellite internet, aiming to expand broadband access, especially in underserved areas, by leveraging Starlink's satellite constellation with Jio and Airtel's local networks for delivery.

Why BSNL 4G Has So Much Issues?

2025-11-30T00:48:00.003+05:30

From my last post on BSNL's official entry into 4G space, I am continuing here. Making it a brief, BSNL 4G is giving download speed of 20-30Mbps on 10/5MHz x 700/2100MHz band using LTE-FDD in 2025 while Airtel's initial 4G offering on 20MHz x 2300MHz on LTE-TDD was upto 40Mbps downlink.

So BSNL's using lower bands with less bandwidth those should offer lower downlink speed, that's what I am getting. But BSNL 4G is having coverage issues, why? That should not be there as BSNL 4G is mostly running on LTE700 which should give a massive coverage - which can compete with bygone era's CDMA tech's coverage area as it was offered over 800MHz band.

BSNL's internal analysis reveals that over 132,000 cells are transmitting power below 35 dBm (approximately 3.16W or watts), whereas the desired level is 46 dBm (40W). This discrepancy means the towers are emitting only a fraction of their intended signal strength, severely impacting coverage and service quality. TRAI's drive tests have corroborated user complaints about BSNL's inferior performance. BSNL already informed this issue to TCS and Tejas Networks to improve the situation.

Tejas' equipments are not only causing headache to BSNL; since late 2024 Bharti Airtel has found that Tejas-made BSNL 4G equipment emitted signals are peeping to Airtel's LTE900 network in Rajasthan. Airtel investigated that filters in Tejas's 'sub-standard' radio equipment are designed for a broader international frequency range (864-894 MHz) but don't align with India's strict 800 MHz downlink allocation (869-889 MHz), causing spillover. Though Airtel sent letters on December end to Tejas to rectify the issues, Tejas told that their equipment follow international 3GPP standards and further rectification in process with DoT's directives. Tejas also informed Airtel put their 4G BTSs are in close proximity to BSNL's 4G BTSs without ensuring adequate coupling loss to minimize signal disruption.

But we can see many BTS put in same tower, so close placement of BTS causing issues, as told by Tejas is not the reason of interference. Insiders told that the issue lies in spectrum allocation to BSNL by Wireless Planning and Coordination (WPC) wing of the DoT who assigned the band without following 3GPP-recommended guard band norms. At the end BSNL-Tejas has put filters in more than 1,000 sites. But in future Airtel must inform to BSNL regarding new BTS installation in new sites to avoid such issues.

Check out: https://downdetector.in/ powered by Ookla for any network issues by any operator.

TRAI's October 2025 data shows BSNL holds just 7.9% of wireless market, while debt-ridden Vi has 17.13%. Market leader Jio and Airtel have 41.36% and 33.59% market share respectively.

Check out 4G/5G coverage of Indian operators:

Airtel: https://www.airtel.in/wirelesscoverage

Jio - https://www.jio.com/selfcare/coverage-map

Vi - https://www.myvi.in/vicoverage

BSNL - https://bsnl.co.in/footerlink/coveragemap

Vi 5G Review: Speedtest Results in Kolkata

2025-10-31T03:17:00.006+05:30

Vi, the third largest mobile operator of India, has launched 5G, and it is now in Kolkata too, but in a few pockets of the metro. Though it's not present at my home area, it is widely available in Salt Lake.

To deploy 5G, Vi took a multi-vendor strategy - made deals with Samsung, Nokia and Ericsson for different circles. In Kolkata Nokia is the vendor of Vi 5G.

However despite dealing with global equipment manufacturers, Vi also looked into Indian companies - probably to cut costs. In December last year Vi partnered with Tata Group owned Tejas Network to increase their backhaul capacity from their upcoming 5G launch. Tejas-Vi bond seems to be sweeter, as Vi will run trial with Tejas made 5G RAN solutions in a telecom circle, while HFCL supplies IP/MPLS routers; HCLTech delivers self-optimizing network solutions to Vi, as announced in October 2025.

I checked Vi's 5G coverage in Kolkata on their official website - which could be not updated till the date. Website: https://www.myvi.in/vicoverage *

I tested Vi 5G with Honor 200 Pro smartphone - it's Non Standardalone 5G network (NSA-5G) - that means the core is still 4G. In outdoor Vi 4G goes over 2100MHz and indoor Vi 4G latches to 1800MHz during my test while NSA-5G latching to 3500MHz band.

Screenshot from NetMonster app 01

Screenshot from NetMonster app 02

First check on Speedtest.net by Ookla app:

Link: https://www.speedtest.net/result/a/11203142757 It was more like Vi 4G.

More speedtest.net results later:

1. https://www.speedtest.net/result/a/11203144438

2. https://www.speedtest.net/result/a/11203157434

3. Speedtest of Vi 5G on Fast.com with Vivaldi Browser:

4. Bing's embeded Speedtest.net result:

5. Vi 5G test: on Speed.is - powered by Meta and X

6. On Speedtest.net.in: (powered by FireProbe.net)

7. On Speed.Cloudflare.com

8. On OpenSignal's Meteor app:

In brief, Vi 5G is offering decent 120-200Mbps on 5G Smartphone. Though it is not at par with Airtel 5G as I checked, it was offering 300-500Mbps while Jio True 5G was reaching more than a gigabit per second!

* Similar website by Airtel: https://www.airtel.in/wirelesscoverage

Jio - https://www.jio.com/selfcare/coverage-map

BSNL - https://bsnl.co.in/footerlink/coveragemap

From my old collection - May 2025

Airtel 5G vs Jio 5G vs Vi 4G LTE: May 2025 – Indoor

Operator	Downlink	Uplink	Network details	Ping	Location
Jio 5G	530Mbps	64.5Mbps	Jio 5G NR/ 5G SA 3500MHz 100MHz	22s	Kamarhati, Indoor
Jio 5G	284Mbps	104Mbps	Jio 5G NR/ 5G SA 3500MHz 100MHz	19s	Barrackpore, Indoor
Airtel 5G	155Mbps	26.6Mbps	5G NR/5G NSA (LTE 1800/2300 10/20MHz as core + 5G 3500MHz 100MHz	20s	Kamarhati, Indoor
Airtel 5G	141Mbps	124Mbps		51s	Barrackpore, Indoor
Vi 4G	42.7Mbps	38.6Mbps	LTE TDD 2500MHz 20MHz	42s	Kamarhati, Indoor
Vi 4G	73.4Mbps	10.6Mbps	LTE TDD 2500MHz 20MHz	42s	Barrackpore, Indoor

However Vi 5G is at par with Airtel 5G, as seen on my tests.

BSNL 4G Officially Launched on 27th September 2025 - Discussions

2025-10-03T21:32:00.006+05:30

BSNL, the state owned telecom service provider has officially launched its 4G-LTE services in India in an event at Jadsuguda, Orissa as India's prime minister Narendra Modi unveiled Swadeshi 4G network of BSNL on September 27, 2025. In fact, BSNL completed its 25 years of milestone of September 26, 2025.

BSNL has deployed indigenous 4G stack, made by Tata backed Tejas Networks & TCS and C-DoT. Multiple Indian startups are also part of it. It is aligned with the government's strategy of Atmanirvar Bharat (Self reliant India).

With 4G offering and tariffs kept atleast 30-40% cheaper than competitors, BSNL is moving forward - TRAI's August data shows BSNL grabbed 13.85 lakh new customers and stood second to only Jio who got 19L new customers. However BSNL has huge number of inactive subscribers, compared to private telcos - which tells that many are using BSNL as second SIM. Report by JM Financial tells us another fact - BSNL added most users from rural zones.

Telecom minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, at the event of 4th edition of Kautilya Economic Conclave expressed his excitement that BSNL posted for an operating profit of Rs 5000 crore in the current financial year, up from Rs 2300 crore in the previous year. He also informed that BSNL would launch 5G in next 6-8 months, as the 4G stack BSNL deployed is 5G-ready.

BSNL, who is deployed TCS and Tejas made 4G stack, also collaborated with Tata Communications to offer eSIM all over India. Tata Communications' subsidiary Tata Communications Collaboration Services Private Ltd. (TCCSPL), has supplied its GSMA-accredited eSIM subscription management platform – Tata Communications MOVE to BSNL to enable its customers to get eSIM all over the country. To be noted, BSNL soft-launched eSIM services in Tamilnadu circle in August 2025. Pan India launch of BSNL eSIM came on October 1, 2025 will allow users to activate a mobile connection remotely via a QR code without a physical SIM card. All other telcos - Jio, Airtel and Vi already offer eSIM for some time.

BSNL 5G-FWA in Hyderabad (from Internet)

Till October 21, 2025 BSNL has rolled out several strategic launches:

1. 4G as a service

2. Pan India eSIM roll out in collaboration with TCS.

3. 5G-SA pilot - the company is expecting 5G as service to be launched in Delhi and Mumbai by December, 2025.

4. Quantum 5G-FWA in Hyderabad - it is a SIM-less service. Later in October end, BSNL roped in Blue Cloud Softech Solutions (BCSSL) as system integrator for Andra Pradesh circle to launch 5G-FWA for enterprise segment.

5. WiFi Calling (VoWiFi) in West and South zones

6. VoLTE (It may be launched with pilot 4G runs, but officially no update. I am getting VoLTE signals after October 10, 2025 in my area)

Key milestones of Mobile telephony in India:

	Launch date	City	Operator
2G	July 31, 1995	Kolkata	Modi Telstra (now Vi)
3G	December 11, 2008	Delhi	MTNL
4G	April 10, 2012	Kolkata	Airtel
4G	December 27, 2015	Parts of India	Jio – initial Beta launch
4G	February, 2016	Varanasi	Telenor India (later merged with Airtel) – introduced lean/narrowband LTE (using 1.4MHz of 1800MHz band)
4G	September 5, 2016	Pan India	Jio’s commercial 4G launch after offering free calls and data over more than a year.
4G	September 2020	Pan India	Introduction of GiGANET 4G by Vi (after merger of Vodafone India and Idea Cellular) Vodafone launched 4G on 8th Dec 2015 & Idea launched 4G on 23rd Dec 2015
5G	October 1, 2022	8 cities	Airtel launched 5G Plus in 8 cities of India – Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Siliguri, Nagpur, Varanasi using non-standalone technology (5G-NSA).
5G	October 5, 2022	4 cities	Jio officially launched their 5G-SA network using their own 5G stack. Jio had achieved pan India 5G coverage by early 2024.
5G	May 15, 2025	Delhi-NCR	Vi enters in 5G market with deploying 5G-NSA tech.
4G	September 27, 2025	Pan India	BSNL launched 4G officially.

Discussions on BSNL 4G (LTE700 & LTE2100) v Others

▶ Speed of 4G on BSNL:

Airtel launched 4G on 10th April 2012, and Jio launched the same since 2015 - and BSNL has just entered the turf after a delay of 13 years 5 months 17 days, while both Airtel and Jio deployed 5G NR across the country. BSNL has several works to do - to offer better 4G speed (via MIMO or CA), fill the dark spots to offer seamless 4G experience, spectrum refarming from 3G use, introducing VoLTE etc.

When Airtel brought LTE-TDD over 20MHz spectrum on 2.3GHz band way back in 2012, it was limited to dongles and WiFi routers only, and Airtel told that maximum download speed would be 40Mbps only.

Now Airtel, Jio and Vi dumped 3G, and use several bands for 4G-LTE - 800/900MHz, 1800, 2100, 2300/2500MHz - with MIMO and Carrier aggregation the 4G speed has been improved a lot and it's now very stable. Not only that trio have quite good coverage with 4G, almost at par with Airtel & Vi's robust 2G coverage.

Comparing 4G speeds from Airtel, Jio and Vi: (From my old posts)

Airtel 4G Speedtest on 12/2017: https://drrdb.blogspot.com/2017/12/airtel-4g-speedtest-december-2017.html

Airtel v Jio 4G speedtest on 07/2017: https://drrdb.blogspot.com/2017/07/airtel-vs-jio-lte-speed-comparison.html

Vodafone 4G Speedtest 08/2016: https://drrdb.blogspot.com/2016/08/vodafone-3g-vs-4g-review-at-kolkata.html

BSNL 4G vs Vi 4G - Spectrum Bands

BSNL 4G is slower than competitors as:

Limited spectrum use: BSNL 4G using 10MHz of 700MHz which provides wide coverage but with this lower band BSNL can't offer great speed in dense, urban areas. To be a prominent 4G option in urban areas, they have deployed LTE2100 over just 5MHz - but with 5MHz BSNL can't satisfy urban area's need. They need to refarm their 2G/3G spectrum to offer LTE1800 & LTE2500 & add more spectrum on ‌LTE2100.

For eg, Vi, another late entrant in 5G, has 4G-LTE over 900/1800/2100/2500 MHz (in Kolkata Vi deployed LTE900 on 5MHz, LTE1800 on 15MHz , LTE2100 on 10MHz and LTE2500 on 20MHz).

Compare: Signal strengths of Vi LTE900 vs BSNL LTE700 ( via NetMonster app)

Compare: Signal strengths of LTE2100 of Vi & BSNL ( via NetMonster app)

Now check out how fast is Vi 4G now:

https://www.speedtest.net/result/a/10887426501

Vi 4G in 2025 - as good as pre-5G

Advanced Technology used by Others: Competitors deployed LTE-A, carrier aggregation and MIMO.

Fewer Towers: Since the official launch of BSNL it is being said that BSNL 4G is available over more than 1 lakh towers, but that's some marketing gimmick - actually BSNL has installed 1 lakh BTS and some towers have two BTS (for LTE700 and LTE2100) - which makes around 60,000 locations are covered with BSNL 4G. That's great but not compared to Jio or Airtel's 4G/5G coverage.

From a old report, in July 2023 Jio had deployed 228,689 BTS for 5G - which made approx 70% coverage.

I just look into DoT website - it tracked till October 20, 2025 - India has 8,41,799 towers serving total 2G/3G/4G/5G BTS number of 31,37,480. And out of these 31L BTS - 5,04,588 is the no. 5G BTS deployed by Airtel/Jio/Vi (30/09/2025 data).

That means BSNL has to deploy atleast 3L BTS for 4G for wide coverage. But BSNL is primarily launching 4G on 700MHz which would provide much larger coverage than Airtel's initial 4G offering on 2300MHz band.

I am using BSNL SIM for last few days in Barrackpore and Chinsurah area and travelled over train and road. BSNL 4G crawls or does not exist while I am on local train on most of the time.

These are the SpeedTest results of BSNL 4G:

Results of BSNL 4G Speed on SpeedTest App - (09/10 and 10/10 results are on B.T. Road - moving on a bike from Titagarh to Barrackpore Chiriamore)

From these tests, I would say BSNL 4G is decent as it's nascent, reaching 25-30Mbps if you are on good coverage zone. But mostly I am not getting good coverage. BSNL needs to iron out this issue urgently.

Last thing is BSNL's 5G roll out, which has been predicted by Telecom minister - I personally feel that BSNL 5G on 3500MHz using 70MHz spectrum (compared to Jio's 100MHz spectrum on the same band) will be launched pan India not before early 2027. Check out which companies and start-ups are driving BSNL's 5G dream - https://drrdb.blogspot.com/2024/08/bsnl-5g-may-come-earlier-than.html . BSNL's 5G over 700MHz will definitely hamper present 4G offerings due to limited spectrum.

Jio Deploys 5G-NR Country-wide, Details of UBR based Jio AirFiber

2025-09-22T12:33:00.003+05:30

From the very beginning of deployment of cellular technology, India had behaved like any 3rd world country - late deployment, poor services and poor adaption. However since 2015 the perception gradually has been changed, all thanks to Mukesh Ambani backed Reliance Industries' telecom arm - Jio.

Now Jio has launched 5G-SA and brought 5G-FWA (fixed wireless access) to connect homes with wireless broadband. Initially Airtel with their 5G-NSA could not enter into 5G-FWA market as 5G core is very much essential for roll out 5G-FWA, but they now entered into 5G-FWA market with their limited 5G-SA deployment.

Rajeev Saluja, Vice President, 5G Radio, Reliance Jio notes, “... the first and foremost is our 5G standalone deployment coupled with network slicing. It allows us to do very dense FWA deployments without compromising on mobile broadband experience...We do broadband deployment in a fully automated, technology-agnostic manner... We’re not just giving high-speed broadband—we’re delivering a full content ecosystem, which is a huge differentiator.”

Airtel was the first company to launch FWA over 5G on August, 2023 as Airtel exTream. Airtel 5G FWA is using Nokia's FastMile 5G Outdoor Receivers, powered by Qualcomm and Core solutions from Ericsson.

Vi, the third private telco, was late to deploy 5G (mostly 5G-NSA), and they are heavily debt-ridden, hence deploying 5G in such pockets where revenue generation is much easy, i.e. in urban pockets. Vi cleared that they are not entering into 5G-FWA market any time soon. That also echoes the fact Vodafone or Idea never had home broadband service (though Vodafone had acquired YOU Broadband in 2016, and now it's a subsidiary of Vi).

Fourth telco of the country, BSNL is deploying 4G-LTE over 700 & 2100 MHz and expecting to launch 5G in Delhi and Mumbai in December 2025 - we are not expecting 5G-FWA from BSNL anytime soon but soft launch was done in Hyderabad in June '25 as Quantam 5G FWA - eSIM based 5G-FWA services.

Now as per TRAI data, Jio has become largest 5G-FWA operator with 7.4 million FWA connections in July 2025 with coverage over 7,722 towns - which also makes Jio's AirFiber largest 5G-FWA operator across the world (vs T-Mobile's 7.3m FWA connections). It should be noted that Jio has developed its own 5G stack and deployed 5G across the country - which is probably fastest 5G roll out across the globe.

Jio AirFiber Subscribers (incl 5G + UBR)

Jio also achieved another milestone in its 5G journey. On early September 2025, Aayush Bhatnagar, senior vice president, Jio announced that Jio has successfully enabled Voice over New Radio (VoNR) across India, leveraging its fully indigenous 5G Standalone (SA) Core and Jio’s own IMS (IP multimedia subsystem)-enhanced VoNR Core. With Jio's 5G-NR ultra-low latency, high-definition voice services is natively enabled on its 5G-SA network.

5G SA networks can be deployed in a variety of scenarios: as an overlay for a

public 5G non-SA network, as a greenfield 5G deployment for a public network operator without a separate LTE network, or as a private network deployment for an enterprise, utility, education, government or other organisation requiring a private campus network.

As per GSA data of August 2025, globally 5G-SA is being traction moderately - 173 operators in 70 countries and territories worldwide that have invested in public 5G SA networks through trials, planned or actual deployments. This

equates to 27.1% of the operators known to be investing in any 5G licences, trials or deployments.

Back in July 2025, Jio dropped another bomb to broadband communities that some of their FWA services are not over 5G, but on UBR (unlicensed band radio) over 5GHz band. Yes, you got it right, our WiFi runs over 5GHz band too along with 2.4 GHz, and the newer 6 GHz (Wi-Fi 6E and later).

Jio is positioning UBR better than 5G-FWA, as:

5GHz has more spectrum (Jio obtained 100MHz 5G spectrum on auction while UBR has capacity of 605MHz)
As its UBR - unlicensed band, there is no cost to obtain the spectrum - less SUC (start up cost).
UBR can offer configurable symmetry like 1:1 (same downlink and uplink) while 5G has fixed DL:UL. Dedicated allocation of speed to users can be possible.
fiber like speed (1Gbps guaranteed, on field trial upto 2.5Gbps).
Jio developed the required hardware and software for UBR - that also reduce price barrier. Jio's own subsidiary Radisys completed acquisition of Mimosa Networks from Florida based AirSpan in August 2023, and today Mimosa made UBR based FWA devices are the core of Jio AirFiber to reduce the cost of hardware.

Overall there are several limitation of UBR:

1. Lesser range (vs 3500MHz 5G) and line of sight limitation (30dBm EIRP ~ 500m max LOS)

2. Channel size limit - maximum 160MHz

3. Dynamic frequency selection - that may lower downlink speed. And if Radar detected it may needed to be vacated.

4. Carrier aggregation - it would add cost and complexity.

Jio's UBR deployment would also have interference risk - wide beam for multicast actually increases interference and as on unlicensed band they can't control inference. WiFi is being used over 5GHz band, it is not easy to find clean 160MHz channels, that also says that QoS and congestion issues will rise as deployment density grows. Experts believe Jio bets on UBR for rapid roll out and it's a short-term policy. Well Jio has the back up working as Jio Fiber is already launched long before AirFiber was launched.

Now let's get into Mimosa A6 (https://mimosa.co/products/a6) which offers PtMP deployments (point-to-multipoint networks - a single access point to serve multiple subscriber locations), high performance (upto 7Gbps on WiFi 6GHz band, using 8x8 MU-MIMO and 1024-QAM), noise mitigation (Advanced noise-fighting techniques and beamforming make it more resilient in noisy, unlicensed spectrum environments), synchronized network scalability which is a critical factor for FWA.

Probably A6 is the latest model, as C6 (https://mimosa.co/products/c6) and C6x (https://mimosa.co/products/c6x) were initially installed.

From different Jio users I heard about Jio's UBR receivers - earlier it was 32 dbi ones, and now it's smaller (16dbi).

UBR Receivers of Jio AirFiber Gen 1 (larger) vs Gen 2 (smaller)

Frankly speaking UBR is Jio's strategy to connect more customers with broadband with more emphasis over areas where 5G signals are weak, and fiber not feasible.

GSA has identified announced service offers for FWA using LTE/5G from 567 operators in 188 countries and territories and launched services from 495 operators in 176 countries and territories worldwide (Data from June 2025 report).

If you consider global FWA rollouts, note T-Mobile in US is quite successful - second largest subscriber base globally after Jio. Back in 2021, TM-US CEO Mike Sievert had predicted millions of fixed wireless access customers in 2025. Now in 2025 TMUS has 7.3 million customers (vs Verizon Home Internet's 5.1million & AT&T Internet Air's 0.47 million ) and targets 12million by 2028.

All plans of TMUS FWA offer unlimited data (FUP 1.2TB/mo) starting from $35 (Rs 3085 approx) - TMobile says downlink will be 133-415Mbps and uplink 12-55Mbps on 5G-FWA with typical latency of 16-28 seconds. Compared to this, Jio AirFiber Max offers 100Mbps/300Mbps/1Gbps speed - I guess that is being offered over UBR tech.

T-Mobile 5G FWA hardware is delivered by Inseego, the original MiFi innovator. Inseego has FX4100, co-developed with T-Mobile with support for 5G SA, 5G Advanced, features like uplink carrier aggregation and full compatibility with network slicing, enabling future application-specific slices across verticals. With such features T-Mobile is targeting small and medium businesses to feed them data via 5G-FWA technology.

Globally 5G-FWA is also getting traction, as a complement to fiber broadband and a new stream of revenue generation - MTN Group has launched FWA in 6 African countries using Huawei's RuralStar solution. In Saudi Arabia STC is expanding 5G-FWA coverage with additional C-band spectrum (3.7-4.2GHz range). In Oman Oredoo and Omantel launched 5G-FWA to complement their fiber operations.

Europe leads the way with 72 commercially launched 5G FWA networks. In Italy, EOLO deployed Europe's first standalone mmWave 5G-FWA using Nokia's solution. In Finland, Elisa launched Omakaista (Own Lane) 5G-FWA services using Ericsson's tech - it is branded as premium service as network slicing allows allocated specific radio resources and prioritized in scheduling to guarantee its performance.

5G-FWA is here to stay; with implementing 5G-Advanced and carrier aggregation it will be faster in coming days. Even urban users who prefer wireless may opt for 5G-FWA as an alternate to fiber. But using UBR technology as FWA by Jio is definitely a smart move.

Coffees in India - Listing of New Brands

2025-09-06T15:52:00.113+05:30

Over a cup of coffee

Coffee is an interesting drink, common to most Indian household, be it north India or south India. Coffee is not a native to India, rather in 17th century Sufi saint Baba Budan brought coffee seeds from Yemen, and started coffee plantation in Chikmagalur, a hill station on the Western Ghats, in Karnataka. Hence most of the coffee production are done in southern states like Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra and Maharashtra. Other states are Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura are also producing some amount of coffee.

Nescafé, owned by multinational company Nestlé is probably the most popular coffee brand in India. Next is Bru, now owned by Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) - which was launched in India in 1968. Tata Coffee, with history of more than 90 years is another popular name among Indian coffee lovers. Others names include Davidoff - the luxury coffee brand, Cafe based Starbucks India and Coffee Day. The later mentioned coffee cafes like Starbucks, Café Coffee Day, Costa Coffee (now owned by Coca Cola) and Barista (https://www.barista.co.in) are also creating the traction of coffee popularity across the country.

Some fun facts of Coffee:

Ethiopia is Coffee’s Birthplace, where the legendary goatherd named Kaldi discovered coffee after noticing his goats became energetic after eating coffee berries. That was approx 850 CE. Today many coffee stores and roasting companies are named as "Kaldi Coffee" or "Kaldi's Coffee" and "Dancing Goat" or "Wandering Goat". The name 'Coffee' was originated from the Arabic word "qahwa," meaning "wine of the bean."
However today Brazil is the top producer of coffee - they supply almost one-third of world's coffee alone, followed by Vietnam, Colombia, Indonesia and Ethiopia. Coffee belts - best coffee is cultivated in tropical regions between the Tropic of Cancer and Capricorn.

Arabica vs Robusta:

	ARABICA	ROBUSTA
🌱 Origin and Growing Conditions	Grown at high altitudes (600–2000m), thrives in cool, shaded environments. Delicate and premium in nature.	Grown at lower altitudes (200–800m), more resilient, and easier to cultivate.
👅 Taste Profile	Smooth, slightly acidic, with notes of fruit, chocolate, and floral tones.	Bold, strong, earthy with nutty bitterness.
⚡ Caffeine Content	~1.2% caffeine – gentle and balanced.	~2.2% caffeine – perfect for a bold wake-up.
👃 Aroma and Body	Floral and fruity aroma, with light to medium body.	Stronger aroma and full body with rich crema—great for filter coffee or espresso.
💰 Price & Accessibility	Premium priced due to labor-intensive farming.	Budget-friendly, ideal for everyday brews.
✅ Which One is Right for You?	Choose Arabica if you love smooth, subtle flavours with a light caffeine kick.	Go with Robusta if you enjoy bold, intense brews with a powerful aroma.

There are some other types of coffee. Like Excelsa - grown in Southeast Asia, provides a unique tart, complex flavor with dark fruit and smoky notes. Another is Liberica - which is often said to be even sweeter than Arabica and also has a very noticeable smoky, woody and vegetal flavor similar to Robusta that can be off-putting. Liberica coffee has its origin from Liberia, an African country of coast.

Heard of Kopi Luwak coffee? That's considered as most expensive coffee in the world. It is also known aw civet coffee, as Asian palm civets eat the ripest, most flavorful coffee cherries and civet's digestive system ferment the beans and beans are collected from the civets' feces and thoroughly cleaned, outer shells removed and then roasted to get the actual coffee beans of Kopi Luwak. This unique coffee is mostly produced in Indonesia and Philippines.

Ace Blend's Lions Mane Mushroom Coffee - https://aceblend.com/collections/functional-drink/products/lions-mane-shroom-coffee

Araku Coffee - https://www.arakucoffee.in/

Badra Coffee - https://badracoffee.com/

Bean Bounce - https://www.beanbounce.com/

Beany Day - https://beanyday.com/

Big Cup - https://www.bigcup.in/

Black Baza Coffee - https://www.blackbazacoffee.com/

Blue Tokai - https://bluetokaicoffee.com/

Brew Dazzle - https://brewdazzle.com/

Brewey Coffee - https://www.breweycoffee.com/

BrootCoffee - brootcoffee.com

Bornow - bornow.in

Caarabi Coffee - https://caarabicoffee.com/

Caffeine Bar - https://www.thecaffeinebaar.com/

Caffitea - https://caffitea.com/

Continental Coffee - https://shop.continental.coffee/

Cothas - https://cothas.com/

Da lyla Coffee - https://dalylacoffee.com/

Devans - https://www.devans.in/

Ekata - https://shop.ekatacoffee.com/

FirstKaapi - https://firstkaapi.com/

Flying Squirrel - Coorg based distinctive coffee brand - https://total.coffee/store/theflyingsquirrel/#tab_links_area

Kopiluwak - https://kopiluwak.co.in/

Kruti Coffee - https://kruticoffee.com/

Lavazza: The Italian Supremacy - Turin, Italty based family company came to India via Culinary Brands. https://www.lavazza.in/en

Labon Beans - https://labonbeans.com/

Mr Viet - https://mrviet.co.in/

Mokka Farms: https://mokkafarms.com

Mountain Brewed Coffee - https://mountainbrewedcoffee.com/

Naivo - https://naivo.in/

Nila - https://nila.shop/

OzCafe - ozcafe.co.in/

Paul John Caffeine - https://pauljohncaffeine.in/

Rare Beans Co - https://rarebeansco.com/

Raze Coffee - https://ragecoffee.com/

Riverside Coffee - https://riversidecoffee.co/

Sleepy Owl Coffee - https://sleepyowl.co/

Sonnets by Tata Coffee - https://tatacoffeesonnets.com/

Soulistic Store - https://www.soulisticstore.com/

Toffee Coffee - https://toffeecoffeeroasters.com/

Tulum Coffee - https://www.tulum.coffee/

Vaishnavi Estate - https://vaishnaviestate.com/

The list is never complete.

Private 5G: BSNL Cracked Two Deals

2025-09-06T15:23:00.111+05:30

Indian operators are banking on FWA to make 5G tech monetized, but the most effort on FWA is being played by Jio. The next monetizing factor could be deployment of private 5G networks. First trial of private 5G network was done by Airtel, back in July 2022, at Bosch Automotive Electronics India Pvt Ltd's facility in Bengaluru using trial 5G spectrum allocated by the Department of Telecom (DoT).

But private 5G network is not getting much demand from the enterprises, as many want to deploy bypassing the present telecom operators - as the companies want their own spectrum and will bring their own technology partner to deploy private 5G. Even if the business sector starts working with the telcos, the spectrum will be another issue.

It should be noted that in the 2022 auction, Adani Enterprises picked up spectrum in the mmWave band i.e. 26 GHz band only, and that too only in key 6 circles - Andra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Mumbai, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu where industrialization is in massive scale and the scope of private 5G would be huge. But so far Adani Data Networks did not launch any private 5G networks and finally sold its entire 400MHz of spectrum on 26GHz band to Bharti Airtel in April 2025. Adani still holds a unified license and though it exits from telecom sector immediately, they could return in future.

RK Bhatnagar, director general, Voice of Indian Communication Technology Enterprises (Voice) pointed out that private 5G can unlock new revenue stream for the telcos by enabling enterprise digital transformation across industries. From mining, ports, manufacturing, oil and gas, energy, healthcare, logistics, smart cities, agriculture, the possibilities of private 5G is truly limitless. But deploying private 5G face significantly more complex and heterogeneous requirements compared to traditional telco-driven consumer 5G networks. Enterprises also want to own their data with full control of their security policies and network operations.

However government backed BSNL, who brought 4G almost 10 years late compared to Airtel and Jio, is working with multiple government entities to launch private 5G. BSNL has been using indigenous 4G tech backed by Tata Consultancy Services, Tejas Networks and C-DoT. The 4G-LTE network of BSNL is 5G-ready and testing 5G services simultaneously and rolled out a 5G network-as-a-service (NaaS) initiative. There are several companies, including some start ups are working with BSNL on this. (details here)

In Aprill 2025 ET reported that Coal India launched a private 5G network using BSNL's spectrum on 3500MHz using Core application of Ireland based Druid Software and radio equipment of Mumbai based Tidal Wave Tech. Tidal Wave provided solution for a private 5G network for enhanced connectivity and communication using data, voice and video with mission critical communications (MCX), 5G drones, cameras and sensors with benefits like improved safety, remote operations, and real-time data analytics. This private 5G network includes vehicle tracking systems, fuel management, and environment sensors at multiple Coal India locations in Gujarat, Maharashtra, as well as Amlohri, Dhanbad and Ranchi.

On early August 2025, BSNL and Numaligarh Refinery signed a MOU to deploy private 5G network at CPSE workshop in Guwahati. Numaligarh Refinery (NRL), a subsidiary of Oil India Ltd and a Schedule ‘A’ Miniratna-I CPSE, is a public sector oil refinery under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, located at Morangi, Golaghat district Assam. It would be the country's first 5G captive non-public network in refinery sector, marking a pioneering step towards deploying indigenous 5G infrastructure for mission-critical industrial operations. This secure and ultra-reliable network will support real-time applications, advanced monitoring, and automation.

Calling it a “game-changing moment” for India’s refinery sector, Dr. Ranjit Rath, CMD NRL stated that the integration of 5G CNPN will enhance operational efficiency, cybersecurity, and facilitate technologies like AR/VR-based workforce training, Digital Twins, and real-time IoT solutions.

So far we did not see any traction on Jio or Airtel's turfs regarding private 5G - but they are not sitting idle. Both industry leaders are working on private 5G. Jio has its pre-packaged, automated 'Hyperlite 5G' solution for enterprises to start private 5G easily. Jio is probably deployed private 5G in Reliance Industries' premises in Jamnagar where RIL has world's largest oil refining and petrochemicals complex. But details is not disclosed by Jio. Jio also showcased network slicing on its 5G-SA (standalone) network, to prove they can bring private 5G in short period.

Not only that Jio is making its own 5G small cells and radio units in a plant near Chennai in collaboration with Sanmina Corp. That's also cutting down hardware cost to the users. Radisys, a subsidiary of RIL is also actively working with this project. It should be noted that Jio had initially deployed products from Ericsson and Nokia but is now shifting to in-house solution to reduce capital expenditure as well as to have a better control on the network.

Airtel, as I already told, conducted country's first private 5G trial, is also working on private 5G as a solution to Industry 4.0. Airtel private 5G solution is ready to drive innovation, automation, and smarter decisions in the era of Industry 4.0. Airtel Business told to press they are experiencing strong demand for private 5G services among its enterprise clients.

In September 2025, Tech Mahindra told to ETTelecom that they partnered with Airtel in 2022 to deploy captive, non-public 5G networks in Mahindra's Chakan facility - which would be country's first 5G enabled automobile manufacturing unit.

However same as Jio, we are yet to see any further details where Airtel Private 5G is deployed or being deployed.

Road to 6G: 5G to 5G Advanced and 6G

2025-06-23T08:49:00.008+05:30

When Chromebook was first launched in India in 2013, we were yet to get 4G. That time 3G from Indian operators was patchy, slow and too much costly! Airtel just launched 4G in 2012, which was not welcomed by the users. I could not take that cloud computing in India could be a future with such slow speed.

Cut to post-COVID era, many are still working from home with the help of Cloud computing. India got 4G in 2012 but 4G went mainstream when Jio started offering free 4G data w.e.f. December 2015. Now 5G was launched in India in October 2022 by both Jio and Airtel - and both are offering free unlimited 5G data on the top of selected 4G plans. India's 5G adoption was very fast, and at par with global rollouts.

In fact, GSMA data showed that 5G is the fastest growing network surpassing 4G/LTE roll out - after 2 years of first commercial LTE launch there were 25 million subscriptions across 60 networks vs 5G grabbed 340 million subscriptions across 155 networks within 2 years of first launch.

Standardizing regulator, 3GPP released their Release 15 - which fixed the basis for 5G Non-Standalone (NSA) deployments, which is still relied on 4G LTE infrastructure for the delivery of end-to-end services. Key improvements of 3GPP R15 were across three areas: enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC), and massive machine-type communications (mMTC). Release 15 has also enabled further advancements by leading to 5G Standalone (SA), in which the 5G New Radio system is complemented by Standalone 5G Core with optional cloud-based network functions.

3GPP's Release 16 noted the enhancements to existing features - from this release '5G evolution' began. It introduces enhanced beam handling and channel-state information (CSI) feedback, as well as support for transmission to a single UE from multiple transmission points (multi-TRP) and full-power transmission from multiple UE antennas in the uplink (UL). These enhancements increase throughput, reduce overhead, and/or provide additional robustness. Additional mobility enhancements enable reduced handover delays, in particular when applied to beam-management mechanisms used for deployments in millimeter (mm) wave bands. Other enhancements include dynamic spectrum sharing (DSS), dual connectivity (DC) and carrier aggregation (CA), and user equipment (UE) power saving.

The most notable new verticals and deployment scenarios addressed in release 16 are in the areas of:

Integrated access and backhaul (IAB)
NR in unlicensed spectrum
Features related to Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and ultra-reliable low latency communication (URLLC)
Intelligent transportation systems (ITS) and vehicle-to-anything (V2X) communications
Positioning.

3GPP R18 defines commercial 5G Advanced, while R16 to R17 added various new capabilities and enhancements to existing 5G networks. Release 18 is considered the “mid-point of 5G standardization” and is branded as 5G Advanced. 5G Advanced (5GA) may also be called as 5.5G - the link between 5G and 6G.

Key enhancements in 5G Advanced/5.5G:

XR (AR, VR, Gaming) - Guaranteed, Seamless, Low power consumption, Edge computing
Enhanced coverage - PUSCH 2dB, RACH 5dB
MIMO performance - Enhanced uplink*, Multi-cell uplink, +20% for high speed mobiles. Multiuser MIMO is a technique that enables two or more user equipment (UE) to share the same time and frequency resources, so more UEs can be scheduled on these same resources. Signal quality is improved by enabling coordinated operation across distributed transmitters. This is an important step on the path towards fully distributed MIMO (D-MIMO) systems.
Mobility - mobility is a central component of high-performing 5G networks. In 5G Advanced, 3GPP introduces a new handover procedure with shorter service interruption times, known as L1/L2-triggered mobility (LTM). LTM is applicable in all frequency bands and can even be applied for UEs configured to use carrier aggregation. In Release 18, LTM is supported between cells served by the same gNB.
5G to replace GSM-R (Railway) - enable GSM-R migration to 5G with <5MHz support for dedicated spectrum. 5G NR will deliver next-generation signaling and communications for railways by adapting 5G to their allocated spectrum bandwidth, connecting next-generation smart grids, and powering ultra-connected and responsive blue-light services. In Europe, it has been decided that the Future Railway Mobile Communication System (FRMCS) which will replace GSM-R will use 5G NR.

Evolution beyond smartphone - RedCap (70% lower cost, lower power consumption), Industry 4.0 devices, Unmanned Aerial vehicles (UAV)/drones. Not only drones but also autonomous vehicles, robots, and Automated Ground Vehicles (AGVs) will thrive with 5G-Advanced networks tailored to ensure reliable communications with base stations.
Accurate Positioning - <10cm indoor positioning using carrier phase, complement to GNSS outdoors
Resilient timing - no GPS required, Timing service over 5G network
Network operation efficiency - More flexible TDD spectrum use, AI/ML automation, Energy efficiency
Enhanced Sidelink - Sidelink meeting public safety needs, Sidelink to XR display etc.
Enhanced Mobility - Reliability to 99%, break from 50 to 0 ms (FR2), Improved FR2 Scell setup.
5G-NTN - In Release 17, NR was adapted to support satellite communication in non-terrestrial networks (NTN). Release 18 includes NR NTN uplink coverage enhancements needed to facilitate robust voice and messaging connectivity. NR NTN evolution will continue in Release 19, including to increase the downlink coverage provided by a satellite. 3GPP will also investigate if any changes of the 5G architecture is needed to be able to have a full gNB onboard the satellite.

* Huawei and China Mobile, in MWC Sanghai 2025 demonstrated the innovative 5G-A Intelligent Ultra Pooling Uplink technology that offers intelligent orchestration and uplink spectrum decoupling and pooling. This innovation allows 5G-A network capabilities to be precisely predicted, reducing latency by over 30%, improving uplink speeds by over 15% and cell-edge user experience by over 15%, all while maximizing network energy efficiency.

Huawei launched several 5G-A solutions during Global Mobile Broadband Forum 2024 in November 2024 - the list includes Sub-1 GHz Massive MIMO, Blade AAU X (single antenna to support massive MIMO deployment across all sub-6GHz bands - it can be deployed on a single pole and needs 50% less site space, and 70% lower OPEX), LampSite (Passive IoT to upgrade indoor digital intelligence).

While Release 18 introduces 5G Advanced, Release 19, which is due by the end of 2025, will primarily focus on improving performance & addressing critical needs of commercial 5G deployments.

Standing in the month of June, 2025, 6G tech specs are yet to be standardized. However 3GPP, the associated industry & technology body started its comprehensive research on 6G radio and system architecture in the technical specification group (TSG) meeting in Prague in early June of 2025.

Both Nokia and Ericsson predicts about 6G. Nokia on its blog post shared that Release20 will address 5G studies, which may come in end of 2026 or early 2027. Next release, R21 will standardize 6G specification, may be due in end of 2028 or early 2029. Commercial 6G may come with 3GPP Release 22, that could be in 2030.

Ericsson's prediction of 6G - it might come early in 2027-28.

Features of 6G which can be expected in future:

Utilization of terahertz (THz) frequencies (100 GHz to 10 THz): With these carriers, 6G will not only be ultra fast, but also provide access to wider bandwidths and enable applications like holographic communication and digital twinning.

Spectrum sharing: 6G will need large amount of spectrum while spectrum is a precious commodity that's short in supply. Therefore 5G to 6G multi-radio access technology (RAT) spectrum sharing (or MRSS) is expected to be one of interesting feature of early 6G rollouts. Dynamic spectrum sharing (DSS) already exist in the 4G/5G world, but 5G-6G MRSS is expected to be much more efficient in terms of performance.

Channel modeling for Integrated Communication and Sensing (ISAC) - a technique wherein the communication network can support both communication and sensing of the surroundings.

Open RAN: Open RAN did not fly with 4G or 5G, and industry experts think Open RAN has immense possibilities with 6G. Ericsson believes, 6G RAN will include a set of open interfaces to support a competitive commercial ecosystem.

Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning: Both Nokia and Ericsson admits AI/ML will be an integral part of 6G.

In June 2025 Nokia announced its Autonomous Networks Fabric, the industry’s first suite of telco-trained AI models, integrated security, and AI apps to accelerate network automation and enable operators to easily roll out new services. Autonomous Network Fabric is a unifying intelligence layer that weaves together observability, analytics, security, and automation across every network domain; allowing a network to behave as one adaptive system, regardless of vendor, architecture, or deployment model.

Additionally, Nokia is announcing an expanded collaboration with Google Cloud to enable customers to deploy Nokia’s Autonomous Network Fabric as a SaaS application running on Google Cloud, on-premises with Google Distributed Cloud, and in hybrid cloud environments. Fabric will leverage Google Cloud’s generative AI, including Google Cloud’s Vertex AI and BigQuery, to deliver agentic-driven workflows for network operations. This includes real-time monitoring and visibility into network traffic patterns, improving subscriber experience, anomaly detection, zero-touch remediation of performance issues, and support for elastic scale-out and disaster recovery to the cloud.

At the similar timeframe Ericsson also unveiled Gen-AI Lab & Agentic AI Studio for telecom OSS/BSS innovation with Amazon Cloud (AWS). The Gen-AI Lab is a groundbreaking global program designed to fast-track AI innovation in OSS/BSS for communication service providers (CSPs). Through a structured, outcome-driven approach, the Lab uses Ericsson's expertise and OSS/BSS portfolio, and the AI platform capabilities of AWS (such as Amazon Bedrock) and cloud services, to empower CSPs to solve OSS/BSS challenges with Generative AI, turning ideas into reality at unprecedented speed. While Agentic AI Studio, a pioneering platform is aimed at automating and accelerating Gen-AI application development. It should be noted that Ericsson Telco IT AI App Suite offers more than 20 cloud-native AI and Gen-AI applications that enhances Ericsson OSS/BSS products across core commerce, service orchestration, monetization, data and analytics, and managed services IT.

Huawei, though had a setback due to American ban on Chinese OEM, is one of the biggest 6G patent holder. In MWC 2024, Huawei unveiled ten AI-oriented innovations, including KooVerse, Distributed QingTian architecture, AI compute, AI-Native storage, E2E security, GaussDB, Data-AI convergence, Media infrastructure, Landing Zone, and Flexible deployment. Huawei has also built a software platform known as compute architecture for neural networks (CANN). Many experts believe that Huawei can be frontrunner to offer 6G platforms beating Intel, AMD, nVidia or Qualcomm.

6G - how fast?

6G is projected to offer speeds up to 1 terabit per second (Tbps), which is 50 times faster than the theoretical peak speed of 5G (20 Gbps). With this speed you can download 142 hours of Netflix's top quality video in every seconds.

On a trial, University College London showed how fast 6G could be - they sent wireless data at 938Gbps in October 2024!

Compared to this, on June 26, 2025, Finland's telco Elisa announced testing on 5G-SA network with Ericsson's tech using aggregation of six component carriers for downlink carrier aggregation, and New Radio-Dual Connectivity (NR-DC) with a total of 12 component carriers to reach download speed of 8Gbps on MediaTek's M90 modem. (source)

Road to 5.5G and 6G - Indian Perspective:

While 5G did not become a good user case in India or globally, the monetization from 5G-NR networks is still in a very nascent stage. Indian operators generating revenue from 5G by FWA and recently Jio started offering cloud gaming. Jio already working on 5.5G - you can get a glimpse over here: https://www.jio.com/platforms/technology/cloud-native/

However Magnus Ewerbring, CTO (Asia Pacific), Ericsson believes that 5G Advanced (or 5.5G) will bring capabilities like network slicing, edge computing and ultra-reliable low-latency communications aiming to unlock new revenue opportunities for the operators. Swedish telecom gear maker, Ericsson is working with Airtel, Vi and Jio on their 5G networks. The APAC 5G market is projected to exceed $130 billion in revenue by 2030, while global 5G-related revenues are expected to surpass $400 billion by 2030. In the June end, this year Ericsson will add 150 roles to its Bengaluru R&D team to enhance its application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) development. This plan, as explained by Nitin Bansal, MD, Ericsson India, "to leverage the local technology competence in the country towards enhancing capabilities in semiconductor design."

Technically Indian telecom service providers like Jio and BSNL are cutting down dependency from foreign gear makers. Jio's 5G network is mostly (almost 80%) using India-made stack, thanks to Reliance Industries' other tech arms like Rancore & Radisys. Jio's 4G vendor was Samsung, but Jio worked with Ericsson and Nokia during 5G deployment. Jio has its intellectual property rights (IPR) in 5G radios, 5G Core, AI/ML platforms, Cloud orchestration, and Cloud infrastructure deployment, as well as, in Cloud-native probing solutions for radio and Core networks. Jio also has its own AI platform - Jio Brain, launched in 2024.

In March 2025, Jio partnered with AMD, Cisco, and Nokia to build an Open Telecom AI Platform that is expected to enhance network security and efficiency, while reducing technology costs. This platform can transform networks into self-optimizing, customer-aware ecosystems. Jio has also been running a start up accelerator, Jio Gen Next via which the company has investments in several Indian start-ups and tech companies like Haptik, C-Square, Fynd, Netrdyna, SankyaSutra Labs, Tesseract and Embibe.

BSNL, late in the 4G party, but is backed by indigenously developed stack by a consortium comprising Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Tejas Networks and the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DoT).

Tejas recently inked a deal with Japan’s Rakuten Symphony to develop Open Radio Access Network (Open RAN) solutions, and jointly work on go-to-market initiatives in India and internationally. So we may see Tejas-Rakuten's 5G O-RAN solutions to be deployed on upcoming 5G network of BSNL. Tejas is also working with Japanese NEC to develop advanced wireless network solutions for international market. As part of this collaboration, NEC agreed to license its Massive MIMO radio, and 4G and 5G converged core technology to Tejas.

Govt of India's 6G Initiative

Indian government has released 'Bharat 6G Vision' Document in March 2023 with the objectives to design, develop and deploy 6G network technologies that provide ubiquitous intelligent and secure connectivity for high quality living experience for the world to position India as a global leader in 6G technology by 2030. Govt. of India initiated ‘Bharat 6G Alliance’ (link)- which brings multiple domestic industries, academic institutes, national research institutions and standards organizations under one roof to develop action plan according to the Bharat 6G Vision. It has signed MoU with leading global 6G alliances to enhance global collaborations for the development of 6G wireless technologies. It has also hosted the inaugural International 6G Symposium coinciding with WTSA 2024 and the India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2024. India is now one of 6 nations with most 6G patents.

Interestingly so far, globally only China and United States had showed their interest and commitment for 6G, as there is almost silence for 6G from most European telcos.

In a recent interview with ETTelecom, GSMA Director General Vivek Badrinath has applauded India for "playing an increasingly active and strategic role in early 6G discussions - particularly through initiatives like the Bharat 6G Alliance and its engagement with international standard-setting bodies. These contributions are vital to ensuring that the next generation of mobile technology reflects global diversity and supports broader development goals."

BSNL to Launch 4G with Indigenous Gears, Jio too Switching to Desi

2025-05-14T16:14:00.005+05:30

Despite multiple delays to launch 4G services, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) - the state owned telecommunications service provider is seemed to be on the track to roll out the much awaited 4G-LTE services across the circles very soon.

As per the deal signed in August 2023, Tejas Networks-led consortium would be delivering 4G sites to BSNL worth Rs 7492 crore. Initially there was extensive trials run across the circles. On May 5, 2025 Tata backed telecom gear firm Tejas Networks announced that the company shipped more than 100,000 sites for BSNL's 4G/5G-ready network. This is one of the largest single-vendor RAN networks in the world ever delivered in record time.

On May 12, DoT announced that BSNL 4G-LTE deployment is at 83.99% ready, i.e. approx. 84,000 4G sites have been installed out of target of 1 lakh of indigenously developed 4G sites. BSNL had set a target to roll out 4G services across 22 circles by mid 2025.

Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia informed that after the stabilization of 4G-LTE network and achieving a proper QoS, BSNL will start 5G roll out commercially. Already BSNL is running 5G trials on multiple cities and multiple locations.

In another development, Uttar Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. (UPMRC) and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) last week signed a MoU in New Delhi to enhance mobile connectivity for metro commuters while travelling through underground metro stations and tunnels. UPMRC's In-Building Solution (IBS) infrastructure, available at underground metro stations and along tunnel corridors in the Lucknow, Kanpur and Agra Metro, as well as in all upcoming projects, will now be utilized by BSNL.

In the quarter ended in March '25, Tejas Networks had posted a multifold jump in consolidated profit to Rs 446.53 crore and more than threefold jump in revenue from operations to Rs 8,923 crore. Tejas is also working with Vi to supply backhaul gears and phase I of supply have been completed.

During Q1 2025 Tejas Networks signed a strategic technology collaboration agreement with NEC Corporation (Japan) for the development of advanced wireless technologies, radio access network (RAN) technologies, and also the Core and EPC (engineering procurement and construction) and also for joint go-to-market strategy.

Jio is also planning to switch to indigenous gears for its 5G network, cutting down dependence on global vendors, Ericsson and Nokia. As per ETTelecom, Reliance Strategic Business Ventures Ltd (RSBVL), a wholly-owned RIL arm, and Sanmina Corp, a leading integrated manufacturing solutions company, had inked a JV agreement nearly 3 years back, to create an electronics manufacturing hub in India. Probably this JV, and RIL backed Radisys will work together in Chennai to manufacture 5G small cells.