Airtel

Bharti Airtel and India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) have announced the launch of WhatsApp Banking Services for IPPB customers, allowing them to access banking services on their mobile phones. Wh­ats­App is to be delivered to customers via Airtel IQ, Airtel’s cloud communications platform, which enables brands to engage with their customers through voice, SMS and WhatsApp channels. It will allow IPPB customers to connect seamlessly with the bank on WhatsApp, and avail of a host of banking services such as door­step service requests, locating the nearest post office, and much more. Airtel, IPPB and WhatsApp are also working on building multi-language support for their banking solution, in order to improve the experience of customers in rural areas looking to access banking services in their own language.

Jio

Reliance Jio has launched the New Cricket Plan, starting at Rs 219 and going all the way up to Rs 999. The plan provides 3 GB of data at high speeds every day, and comes with an unlimited calling facility. The validity of the plan ranges from 14 days to over 84 days, depending on the pack purchased.

Jio has also announced the launch of a brand-new home “Back-up Plan”, enabl­ing seamless streaming of the Indian Pre­mier League alongside other content such as live sports. Existing users will get the choice to upgrade the speed of their plan from 10 Mbps to 30/100 Mbps, according to their requirements. The aim of this plan is to cater to homes with unreliable broadband connections, by providing a safe backup connection. The new plan offers unlimited home broadband at Rs 198 per month, with 10 Mbps speed and unlimited voice calling.

Vi

Vodafone Idea Limited (Vi) has launched an industry-first self-know your customer (KYC) process, in order to ease customer onboarding. Vi’s self-KYC system is based on the Department of Telecommunica­ti­ons guidelines. It enables customers to access new connections from anywhere at any ti­me. This process has been rolled out for all post-paid customers in the Karna­taka and Kolkata service areas. The project is plann­ed to be launched across India for both prepaid and post-paid customers soon. Users can order a new SIM online, and select their desired plan. The end-to-end digital verification solution reportedly focuses on being simple, speedy, assured, convenient, safe and secure. The user must perform Aadhaar authentication on the Unique Identification Authority of India site, and capture a live photo and video that is at least 10 seconds long. After digital verification and placing of the order, the customers will receive the SIM cards at their doorstep.

Vi has also launched MyAmbar Surak­sha Chakra, in collaboration with the Con­necting for Good programme and Martha Farrell Foundation, with the aim of addressing all aspects of gender-based violence. The app is aimed at women working in the country’s informal sector. The platform will enable district administrations to set up local committees for the prevention, redressal and prohibition of any kind of harassment of women at the workplace. It also aims at creating an eco­system wherein women experiencing harassment can get timely justice, information and support. The platform is bi-lingual (Hindi and English), which should help women informal workers to file complaints with their local committees without any issues, and access a rich source of information on laws pertaining to workplace harassment, among other things.

Vi has also announced a partnership with Xiaomi India to provide its customers with a seamless 5G experience. This partnership will enable Xiaomi and Redmi smartphone users to enjoy an enhanced data experience on Vi 5G, once the services are launched by the operator. A wide range of 18 devices from the Xiaomi and Redmi portfolios have been successfully tested on Vi 5G, and will support the network post-firmware-over-the-air updates. Consumers will just have to change their preferred network settings from 4G to 5G, once Vi launches the 5G network commercially. The cleared devices are Xiaomi 13 Pro, Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G, Redmi Note 12 Pro+ 5G, Redmi Note 12 5G, Xiaomi 12 Pro, Mi 11 Ultra, Mi 11X Pro, Xiaomi 11T Pro 5G, Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G, Redmi 11 Prime 5G, Redmi K50i, Redmi Note 11T 5G, Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G, Mi 11X, Mi 10, Mi 10T, Mi 10T Pro and Mi 10i.