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<keyword id="363206" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Airtel-Africa" source="Orion">Airtel Africa</keyword> has reported a revenue growth of 20.6 per cent for the year FY22, to $4,714 million, and 17.8 per cent for Q4FY22. <keyword id="15491" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Airtel" source="Orion">Airtel</keyword> Africa is a leading provider of telecommunications and mobile money services, with a presence in 14 countries primarily in East Africa and Central and West Africa. Constant currency underlying revenue grew 23.3 per cent for the year and 19.1 per cent in Q4. Constant currency underlying revenue growth was strong in all regions -- Nigeria up 27.7 per cent, East Africa up 22.7 per cent and Francophone Africa up 17.2 per cent and across all key services, with revenue in voice up 15.4 per cent, Data up 34.6 per cent and Mobile Money up 34.9 per cent. Further, profit after tax grew by 82.0 per cent to $755 million. The Board recommended a final dividend of 3 cents per share, making total dividends at 5 cents per share for the entire fiscal. Segun Ogunsanya, Airtel Africa Chief Executive Officer, said: "This is another strong set of results for Airtel Africa, demonstrating our solid execution as we continue to enrich the lives of a growing number of people through leveraging the sizeable opportunity to promote digital and financial inclusion across our markets." The company has delivered strong double-digit growth in revenues across all our regions and all our key services, with improving margins driven by strong cost control, and expanding cash generation which is enabling it to continue to invest in it's network and services and expand distribution, as well as strengthening balance sheet and increasing returns to shareholders. "We are connecting more customers in new and existing coverage areas and driving usage levels and ARPUs to new highs. We have successfully executed on a number of strategic initiatives in the year, with tower sales completed in four countries, $550m of minority investments secured for our mobile money business and a successful buyout of minorities in our Nigerian operation." SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/reliance-jio-results-q4-fy22-profit-revenue-subscriber-growth/articleshow/91374478.cms">Reliance Jio reports its strongest profit growth in five quarters as it offloads millions of low quality subscribers</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/foreign-investors-have-pulled-out-1-5-lakh-crore-from-the-indian-markets-in-2022-so-far-heres-why/articleshow/91485411.cms">Foreign investors have pulled out ₹1.5 lakh crore from the Indian markets in 2022 so far — here's why</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/what-is-the-impact-of-new-vpn-guidelines-on-users-and-vpn-providers/articleshow/91468069.cms">Indian government's VPN guidelines will impact over 270 million users as VPN providers have no option but to leave the country</a>

Airtel Africa posts double-digit revenue growth and 82% surge in net profit on the back strong cost control and increased usage levels

<ul><li>At 8:45 am, SGX Nifty was up by 40 points, or 0.29%.</li><li>Here’s a list of stocks to watch for in trade today.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/">Check out the latest news and updates on Business Insider.</a></li></ul>Indian stock markets could extend their gains on Thursday after the Nifty regained the 13,600 level on Wednesday. At 8:45 am, SGX Nifty was up by 40 points, or 0.29%, suggesting that the Indian stock exchanges could have a positive start to the day. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/us-stocks-gain-as-pelosi-pressures-republicans-to-pass-2000-stimulus-checks/articleshow/79931994.cms">US stocks had a mixed response</a> to the Trump administration’s proposal to increase stimulus relief cheques from $600 to $2,000. The Dow Jones closed up by 0.38%, while S&amp;P 500 was barely in the green, up by 0.07%. These are the stocks to watch out for during the trading session today: <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Mrs Bectors Food Specialties" comment="subhead" text="Mrs Bectors Food Specialties"><keyword id="6797647" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="mrs-bectors">Mrs Bectors</keyword> Food Specialties</cmsannotation> After breaking all records of initial public offerings (IPO) this year, Mrs Bectors Food Specialties is all set to debut on the stock exchanges today. The final issue price is fixed at ₹288 per share, and it was oversubscribed by 198 times in total. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Reliance Industries" comment="subhead" text="Reliance Industries">Reliance Industries</cmsannotation> Reliance Industries’ telecom arm Jio added 2.23 million subscribers in October, picking up the slack when compared to its performance in the month before – it added only 1.46 million subscribers during September. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Bharti Airtel" comment="subhead" text="Bharti Airtel"><keyword id="6354287" type="DOMAIN" weightage="20" keywordseo="bharti-airtel">Bharti Airtel</keyword></cmsannotation> Airtel continued to outperform Reliance Jio, adding 3.7 million subscribers in October as compared to 3.78 million in September. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Vodafone Idea" comment="subhead" text="Vodafone Idea"><keyword id="1553175" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Vodafone-Idea">Vodafone Idea</keyword></cmsannotation> Vodafone Idea’s troubles continue to mount as it continued to hemorrhage subscribers in October – it lost 2.66 million subscribers in October as compared to 4.65 million in September. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="IL&amp;FS" comment="subhead" text="IL&amp;FS">IL&amp;FS</cmsannotation> The beleaguered Infrastructure Leasing &amp; Financial Services has reached an agreement to sell its Chinese road asset worth ₹2,074 crore, helping it resolve ₹2,500 crore worth of debt. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="InterGlobe Aviation" comment="subhead" text="InterGlobe Aviation"><keyword id="2351966" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="InterGlobe-Aviation">InterGlobe Aviation</keyword></cmsannotation> InterGlobe Aviation’s <keyword id="6354706" type="DEFINITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="IndiGo">IndiGo</keyword> may start rehiring slowly in the next three months as capacity rebuilds. The company’s CEO Ronojoy Dutta said “Doom and gloom is off the table and we are recovering pretty nicely, especially domestically,” in an interview with Bloomberg Television. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Future Group" comment="subhead" text="Future Group">Future Group</cmsannotation> The beleaguered retail giant’s lenders have agreed to restructure loans under the Reserve Bank of India’s scheme at a time when its deal with Reliance Industries remains entangled in a legal dispute with Amazon. However, in a <a href="https://www.bseindia.com/xml-data/corpfiling/AttachLive/df0d2835-5bf7-4592-b5d2-2141ffba6fa8.pdf">statement to the bourses</a>, Future Retail said that the Delhi High Court verdict is a green light for the deal with Ambani-owned retail giant and that it will follow the direction of the Indian court, not the Singapore court which had sought to stop the deal process from proceeding further. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Deepak Nitrite" comment="subhead" text="Deepak Nitrite"><keyword id="222918" type="DOMAIN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Deepak-Nitrite">Deepak Nitrite</keyword></cmsannotation> The Indian government extended anti-dumping duty on phenol imports from South Africa for 5 years. Deepak Nitrite has the largest phenol plant in the country. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Jubilant FoodWorks" comment="subhead" text="Jubilant FoodWorks"><keyword id="95677" type="DOMAIN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jubilant-FoodWorks">Jubilant FoodWorks</keyword></cmsannotation> The Maharashtra government has agreed to reduce excise license charges for restaurants by up to 50%, in addition to waiving off the 15% hike in excise renewal fee for the current financial year ending March 2021. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/us-stocks-gain-as-president-trump-asks-for-2000-stimulus-checks/articleshow/79926907.cms">US stocks gain as President Trump asks for $2,000 stimulus checks</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/theres-good-chance-a-santa-claus-rally-will-drive-the-stock-market-higher-into-year-end-lpl-says/articleshow/79931931.cms">There's good chance a 'Santa Claus rally' will drive the stock market higher into year-end, LPL says</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/heres-the-main-reason-why-apple-wants-to-get-into-the-low-profit-car-business-according-to-goldman-sachs/articleshow/79928664.cms">Here's the main reason why Apple wants to get into the low-profit car business, according to Goldman Sachs</a>

Top stocks to watch – Mrs Bectors, RIL, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea, IL&FS, InterGlobe Aviation, Future Group, Deepak Nitrite, Jubilant FoodWorks, and others

<ul><li>According to the report, Google is looking to acquire a stake of 5% in <keyword id="1553175" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Vodafone-Idea">Vodafone Idea</keyword>.</li><li>The news comes after Facebook picked up a 9.99% stake in leading telecom operator Reliance Jio for $5.7 billion.</li><li>Google’s interest in Vodafone Idea could be an after-thought, after it reportedly missed out on the Jio deal to Facebook.</li></ul>Shares of Vodafone Idea have surged by more than 30% on May 29 after reports suggested Google is exploring a stake purchase in struggling telecom operator. The move comes after Facebook picked up a 9.99% stake in Reliance Jio, India’s leading telecom operator. According to a <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/3f763918-d0b1-4a02-a581-e241753c75eb">report</a> by Financial Times, Google could pick up a 5% stake in Vodafone Idea. The report also adds that the talks are still in a “very early stage”, so the details of the deal could change. The report further adds that Google is also in talks to acquire a stake in Reliance Jio, and that the talks are still ongoing. However, since <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/why-facebook-owner-mark-zuckerberg-wants-stake-in-mukesh-ambani-owned-reliance-jio/articleshow/74803994.cms">Facebook has already joined Jio</a>, it might make sense for Google to pick up a stake in Vodafone Idea, which is the second largest telco in the country by number of subscribers. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="74964136" title="A new research report says Vodafone Idea has to increase tariff by 39% to survive – and that will be a bounty for Reliance Jio and Airtel" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> <div type="javascript" title="Custom" contenttype="Image"><cdata><![CDATA[<div class="flourish-embed flourish-chart" data-src="visualisation/2615319" data-url="https://flo.uri.sh/visualisation/2615319/embed"></div>]]></cdata></div> Note: Vodafone Idea's share price on 29-05-2020 is taken at 12:10 pm. A deal with Vodafone Idea could also come at a comparatively discounted price. Even though its share price has increased by 84% since March, it is relatively cheaper when compared to rival telecom operators like Airtel. <table><tbody><tr><td>Company</td><td>Market capitalisation (in crore)</td></tr><tr><td>Reliance Jio</td><td>₹4,89,075</td></tr><tr><td>Airtel</td><td>₹3,07,000</td></tr><tr><td>Vodafone Idea</td><td>₹16,665</td></tr></tbody></table> Note: Reliance Jio's valuation is based on the latest investment made by KKR. Airtel and Vodafone Idea's valuations are based on the closing price as on May 28, 2020. Vodafone Idea and its timeline of woes Since the entry of Jio, Vodafone Idea has <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/vodafone-idea-and-its-timeline-of-woes/articleshow/74577942.cms">posted cumulative losses</a> of ₹77,000 crore, with ₹50,922 crore coming in September 2019 alone. It was hit by a demand of ₹53,000 crore by the Supreme Court for recovery of adjusted gross revenue dues. In November 2019, the telco’s UK parent Vodafone Plc wrote down the value of its Indian entity to nil. It also lost 36 million subscribers in the same month. According to the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/mukesh-ambanis-reliance-jio-becomes-the-largest-telco-by-revenue-and-subscribers-as-industry-shows-signs-of-recovery/articleshow/73667566.cms">latest numbers</a> released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), Vodafone Idea has 336 million subscribers, while Jio is <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/microsoft-mukesh-ambani-reliance-jio-are-partners-but-satya-nadella-wants-more/articleshow/76057690.cms">said</a> to have 387 million subscribers. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="74577942" title="Vodafone Idea and its timeline of woes" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> The Indian telecom sector is too lucrative for the big tech companies to ignore The Indian telecom sector presents a good investment opportunity for big tech companies to expand their presence in the country. Although Vodafone Idea’s status is <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/bharti-airtels-ceo-wants-vodafone-idea-to-survive-and-stay-on/articleshow/73973990.cms">critical right now</a>, the recent price hikes by all the three major telecom companies gives it a chance to survive in the market. Further, the Jio-Facebook deal has opened up the Indian telecom sector for investments. Since the deal with Zuckerberg’s company, Jio has found buyers in KKR, General Atlantic, Silver Lake and Vista Equity Partners. Airtel, the third-biggest telco, is also <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/airtel-parent-to-raise-1-billion-via-share-sale-today/articleshow/75989710.cms">looking to raise</a> $1 billion by selling a 2.75% stake to Fidelity, Segantii Capital, Norges Bank and others. Jio changed the face of Indian telecom sector India’s telecom sector has seen major upheaval since the entry of Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio. After Jio’s entry, the Indian telecom sector has seen minor players like Tata Docomo, Aircel, Reliance Communications, Telenor either wind up or sell their business to Airtel. Amidst all this, Vodafone and Idea, which were two separate operators, decided to merge in 2018 to take on Reliance Jio. However, since then, the merged entity Vodafone Idea has been losing millions of customers due to multiple issues, including business uncertainty and a fall in its quality of service. Jio was the major beneficiary of this, going on to become the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/mukesh-ambanis-reliance-jio-becomes-the-largest-telco-by-revenue-and-subscribers-as-industry-shows-signs-of-recovery/articleshow/73667566.cms">largest telecom operator in India</a> both by revenue and number of subscribers. Update: Vodafone Idea in a statement to NSE has said, "As part of corporate strategy, the company constantly evaluates various opportunities for enhancing the stakeholders’ value. As and when such proposals are considered by the Board of Directors of the Company warranting disclosures, the Company shall comply with the disclosure obligations under the SEBI Regulations. Currently, there is no proposal as reported by the media that is being considered at the Board." SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/airtel-share-price-target-as-africa-unit-nears-a-billion-dollars-in-revenue/articleshow/75970641.cms">Airtel’s Africa unit is now a nearly-billion dollar business where every user pays 40% more than the one in India</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/if-vodafone-idea-increases-tariff-it-will-help-airtel-and-reliance-jio/articleshow/74964136.cms">A new research report says Vodafone Idea has to increase tariff by 39% to survive – and that will be a bounty for Reliance Jio and Airtel</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/india-is-changing-its-mobile-habits-and-that-can-help-airtel-and-vodafone/articleshow/75152973.cms">India is changing its mobile habits and that can help Airtel and Vodafone</a>

Vodafone Idea shares surge more than 30% after Google reportedly considers a stake in the debt-laden telco

<ul><li>At 7:45 am, the SGX Nifty was up 0.58% at 8.70 points pointing towards a positive start for Nifty50.</li><li>Here’s a list of stocks to watch for in trade today. </li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/">Check out the latest news and updates on Business Insider.</a> </li></ul>Amid positive cues from the global peers, Indian stock-market indices are likely to open in green on Tuesday. At 7:45 am, the SGX Nifty was up 0.58% at 8.70 points pointing towards a higher start for Nifty50. On Wall Street, the S&amp;P 500 closed above the 3,400 thresholds for the first time, bolstered by gains in some big tech-related names. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also jumped 378.13 points to close at 28,308.46. These are the stocks to watch out for during the trading session on Tuesday: Future Retail Kishore Biyani-led Future Retail has averted a default as it repaid around $14 million (around Rs 100 crore) interest on foreign bonds to investors. The 30-day grace period for repaying the interest on ‘5.60 per cent Senior Secured Notes due 2025’ was to end on Monday. The shares of Future Retail plunged over 5% on Monday. Adani Enterprises Billionaire Gautam Adani’s Adani Group is in talks to buy out GVK and some of its partners in the Mumbai Airport as it aims to become the country’s biggest private airport operator. Adani Group is in talks to acquire a 50.5% stake held by GVK Group in Mumbai International Airport (MIAL) and another 23.5% of minority partners, Airports Company South Africa (ACSA), and Bidvest Group, two sources with knowledge of the matter told PTI. The shares of Adani Enterprises ended 7% higher on Monday. Axis Bank Axis Bank on Monday said it would acquire 17% stake in Max Life Insurance instead of the 29% proposed earlier as per a revised deal. Axis Bank currently holds about 1 per cent stake in Max Life and is the biggest banking channel partner for the distribution of the insurer’s products. Products sold through the bank reportedly account for 54% of Max Life’s revenues. The shares of Axis Bank ended 2% higher on Monday. GMR Infra GMR Infra board to consider raising of funds of up to ₹5000 crore in one or more tranches, through the issue of securities as an enabling resolution as per the requirements of applicable laws which shall be subject to the approval of shareholders. The shares of GMR Infra ended 5% higher on Monday. Wipro Wipro announced a partnership with Standard Initial Margin Model (SIMM) vendor, Quaternion Risk Management. As part of the deal, Wipro will offer SIMM-in-a-box to financial institutions covered under Uncleared Margin Rules (UMR). The shares of Wipro ended nearly a percent lower on Monday. Allcargo Logistics The promoters of Allcargo Logistics have proposed to delist the company shares as part of its efforts to pare debt, the company said in a stock-exchange filing on August 24. The shares of Allcargo Logistics ended nearly a percent higher on Monday. LIC Housing Finance Mortgage lender LIC Housing Finance reported a 34% jump in its net profit to ₹817.48 crore for the quarter ending June helped by lower provisioning. The total income of the company rose to ₹4,977.49 crore in April-June 2020 from ₹4,807.21 crore in the year-ago quarter, according to a regulatory filing. The shares of LIC Housing Finance ended nearly a percent lower on Monday. JSW Energy JSW Energy said that its Executive Director Jyoti Kumar Agarwal, who is also the Chief Financial Officer (CFO), has tendered his resignation and will step down with effect from September 15. In a regulatory filing, the company said that Agarwal has decided to pursue career opportunities outside the company. The shares of JSW Energy ended 2% lower on Monday. Indian Energy Exchange Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) on Monday said its board of directors had accepted the resignation of its Managing Director and CEO Rajiv Srivastava. The company has given Satyanarayan Goel the additional charge of Managing Director and CEO. “Board of directors of the company at its meeting held today, i.e. August 24, 2020, has approved the resignation of Rajiv Srivastava, Managing Director &amp; CEO of the company, who has tendered his resignation on August 24, 2020, from the board of the company, due to his personal reasons,” the company said in a stock-exchange filing. The shares of Indian Energy Exchange ended a percent higher on Monday. SEE ALSO:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/banks/news/axis-bank-trims-its-investment-in-max-life-insurance-from-30-to-18/articleshow/77721249.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink"> Axis Bank trims its investment in Max Life Insurance from 30% to 18%</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/airtel-stock-is-getting-knocked-down-as-investors-fear-it-may-have-to-pay-videocons-dues/articleshow/77714933.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Airtel stock is getting knocked down as investors fear it may have to pay Videocon's dues</a>

Top stocks to watch on Tuesday— Future Retail, Adani Enterprises, Wipro, Axis Bank, GMR Infra, LIC Housing Finance and more

After a round of musical chairs, Musk, Gates and Adani are among 2022’s top 5 billionaires

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table click-to-enlarge"><div><div class="image"><a title_source="YouTube/Internet.org" title_caption="Mark Zuckerberg's Internet.org has been on the hot seat lately." class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/55313377ecad04f9508b4567-960/mark-zuckerberg-internetorg.png"></a>YouTube/Internet.orgMark Zuckerberg's Internet.org has been on the hot seat lately.</div></div></div>Not everyone is a fan of Internet.org, Facebook's non-profit aiming to bring internet access to "the most disadvantaged" parts of the world.Since its <a href="http://internet.org/press/internet-dot-org-app-now-available-in-india">February rollout in India</a>, several big companies from that country, including a giant media firm and a major travel portal, have withdrawn from the service, claiming it conflicts with the spirit of net neutrality. <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-32334181">According to the BBC</a>, "the issue has certainly galvanized the Indian public - more than 800,000 people have sent emails to India's telecom regulator demanding a free and fair internet."Responding to the backlash in India, Zuckerberg defended Internet.org in an article for <a href="http://m.hindustantimes.com/technology-topstories/facebook-ceo-mark-zuckerberg-to-ht-net-neutrality-and-universal-connectivity-must-co-exist/article1-1337766.aspx">the Hindustan Times</a>, and later published the same text in <a href="https://www.facebook.com/zuck/posts/10102033678947881">a Facebook post</a>. He says "net neutrality and universal connectivity must co-exist."Net neutrality is the idea that all data should be treated equally and service providers shouldn't limit access to certain services over others. But it helps to understand this in the context of Internet.org.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right click-to-enlarge"><div><div class="image"><a title_source="YouTube/Internet.org" title_caption="" class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/55315d08ecad043a7e8b4567-960/internetorg-1.png"></a>YouTube/Internet.org</div></div></div>Here's how Internet.org works: The non-profit makes a free mobile app that's available in parts of Asia, Latin America, and Africa, thanks to partnerships with cellular carriers in those countries. The app is basically a bundle of a few dozen major web services like Facebook, Wikipedia, ESPN, BBC News, and others, but the app itself doesn't provide access to the full internet.So, unless your phone has a browser and a data plan, you can only use the free selection of applications Facebook provides you. Facebook hasn't explained how it selects the apps and services to include in Internet.org: Why, for example, does it offer Bing Search but not Google? Why is YouTube not included, despite its educational value? Customers don't have answers to these questions, which partially explains the backlash.Naveen Patnaik, the Chief Minister of the eastern Indian state of Odisha, said in a letter to Indian regulators (<a href="http://qz.com/385821/poor-internet-for-poor-people-why-facebooks-internet-org-amounts-to-economic-racism/">via Quartz</a>): "While the underprivileged deserve much more than what is available, nobody should decide what exactly are their requirements. If you dictate what the poor should get, you take away their rights to choose what they think is best for them." <div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table click-to-enlarge"><div><div class="image"><a title_source="YouTube/Internet.org" title_caption="" class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/55315d3c69beddd40c8b4567-960/internetorg-2.png"></a>YouTube/Internet.org</div></div></div>Some argue that the underlying problem with this particular structure - offering a bundle of select apps instead of the complete internet - boils down to a policy called "zero rating." It means customers don't pay for the data they use when they access a service or application; rather, the operator running that service or app pays for that data.This toll-free policy can give an unfair advantage to big websites like <a href="https://www.facebook.com/notes/facebook/fast-and-free-facebook-mobile-access-with-0facebookcom/391295167130">Facebook</a> and ESPN, which can afford to pay the data bills for thousands of customers, while leaving little room for smaller independent operations. The Hindustan Times' Nikhil Pahwa wrote a <a href="http://www.hindustantimes.com/technology-topstories/mr-zuckerberg-facebook-is-not-and-should-not-be-the-internet/article1-1337944.aspx" target="_blank">scathing response</a> to Zuckerberg's editorial on Thursday. He cited Stanford Law School professor <a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2015/02/25/388948293/what-net-neutrality-rules-could-mean-for-your-wireless-carrier" target="_BLANK">Barbara van Schewick</a>, who said "zero-rating is the next big threat to innovation and free speech online. It distorts competition, interferes with user choice. And that's exactly what network neutrality is designed to protect."Here's Pahwa:Neither Internet.org, Airtel Zero nor any other major zero rating platform gives the choice to the consumer. Instead, the decisions are made by big telcos working in partnership with large Internet companies. Smaller firms are forced to commercially lobby and sign up in order to prevent their competitors from being able to deal in and crush them.This reduces entrepreneurship and local Internet innovation by placing firms in a situation where their local consumers are all locked in to a limited platform under the control of a few giants. Effectively Prime Minister Narendra Modi's <a href="http://www.makeinindia.com/" target="_BLANK">"Make in India"</a> initiative will be reduced to a "Taxed in India" one, with the "tax" being collected by gatekeepers like Facebook and Airtel. This is why regulators in <a href="http://concurrentmedia.com/2015/02/23/the-next-ott-battleground-zero-rating/" target="_BLANK">Chile, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Canada</a> have prohibited zero-rating, while their counterparts in Germany, Austria and Norway have publicly stated that zero-rating violates network neutrality.In defense of Internet.org, Zuckerberg says "if someone can't afford to pay for connectivity, it is always better to have some access than none at all." While that may be true, offering a few free applications hand-picked by Facebook might not make "a free and open internet" that everyone can agree with. Facebook currently works with local operators to deliver Internet.org, but the company is researching novel ways to beam internet access via drones and satellites, which may eventually help it deliver internet to people without relying on "zero rating." We've reached out to Facebook for comment, and will update this story accordingly when necessary. <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/mark-zuckerberg-in-china-mandarin-panel-facebook-2014-10">Watch Mark Zuckerberg In China Surprise The Audience By Speaking Fluent Mandarin</a></h3> <div> <div> <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="ZreWJhcTrgaYr677oqwzLzUqhzPC2gZG" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div> </div> </div> </div>

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Airtel Africa posts double-digit revenue growth and 82% surge in net profit on the back strong cost control and increased usage levels

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Top stocks to watch – Mrs Bectors, RIL, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea, IL&FS, InterGlobe Aviation, Future Group, Deepak Nitrite, Jubilant FoodWorks, and others

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