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Expert Committee needed to tackle technological issues relating to cable TV: Parliamentary Committee
NEW DELHI: A technical expert body should be set up or the mandate and infrastructure of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India should be widened for handling the issues of technological nature with the regard to the cable television industry in the country, according to a Parliamentary Committee.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology said in a recent report that the Secretary in the Information and Broadcasting Ministry had himself apprised the Committee about the constraints being faced in handling the issues of technological nature. The Secretary had acknowledged the need to set up Expert Bodies to ‘really advise and guide the Ministry on the matter’.
The Committee observed that with multiple transformations all over the world in the technologies available in the media and entertainment sector, there is an urgent need to have expertise to assist and advise the Ministry in handling the issues related to emerging technologies.
In a report for examining the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) (Second Amendment) aimed at checking telecast of illegal channels, the committee also strongly recommended that there is an urgent need to have some structured mechanism to have inter-Ministerial consultations and coordination between the various Ministries/Agencies dealing with technological issues related to media transmission.
The proposed amendment to the cable act seeks to check transmission of illegal channels by cable operators in spite of various measures taken within the ambit of the extant law to stop carriage of these illegal channels. The amendment aims to make the provisions more stringent and also to enhance the punishment, in order to have the necessary deterrent effect.
The Committee noted that the administrative Ministry for legislative framework with regard to Internet is the Department of Electronics and Information Technology, while the Information and Broadcasting Ministry is the nodal Ministry for media.
Internet plays an important role and in the context of the present legislation one of the medium for watching TV is internet, the Committee said, expressing constraint that ‘there is no mechanism to have inter-Ministerial coordination between the various related Ministries – the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, the Department of Electronics and Information Technology, the Department of Telecommunications etc.
The Committee also said there is urgent need to involve the consumer/subscriber in the whole process of implementation of the provisions made under the Cable Act. The involvement of the elected representatives would also address the constraints being faced in implementation of the provisions made under the Cable Act.
There was an urgent need to create awareness about the provisions made in the Cable Act that prohibit the cable operator to show the illegal channels.
Noting that information relating to registered channels is available on the website of the Ministry, the Committee said it may be difficult for agencies involved as well as the public at large in view of the poor broadband connectivity in border areas.
The Committee recommended that pamphlets containing the information should be made available to the agencies involved in enforcement of the provisions of the Cable Act. For wider dissemination, the local bodies should also be supplied copies of the pamphlets and made aware about the positions in this regard.
The Committee are of the firm view that the issue of showing illegal channels by cable operators can be addressed by taking certain pro active initiatives.
The Secretary himself acknowledged that while the problem has been very real in a large number of cases, there has been reluctance on the part of local administration to act against such cable operators. In some cases, action by the local administration raised such a socio-political crisis that the action was withdrawn.
The Committee was told that individual subscribers can lodge complaints in this regard to Authorized Officer or report the matter to District/State Level Monitoring Committees.
The Committee recommended toll free helplines to help the consumers to lodge the complaint in this regard to the Authorized Officer or report to State/District Level Monitoring Committee. Besides, a National Helpline should also be set up to facilitate lodging of complaint by the individual consumer/subscriber from all over the country.
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Inshorts Group chief Deepit Purkayastha joins IAB video council for Southeast Asia and India
The co-founder and chief executive of the short-form content platform has been inducted into the IAB SEA+India Video Council, giving India a stronger voice in shaping digital video frameworks
NOIDA: India has long been the world’s most chaotic, multilingual and mobile-first digital market. Now, one of its most prominent short-video executives is getting a seat at the table where the rules are written.
Deepit Purkayastha, co-founder and chief executive of Inshorts Group, has been selected as a member of the IAB SEA+India Video Council for 2026. Run by the Interactive Advertising Bureau, the council brings together senior leaders from Southeast Asia and India to shape standards, best practices and measurement frameworks for the fast-evolving video and digital advertising ecosystem.
The timing is pointed. According to the IAMAI-Kantar Internet in India Report 2025, over 588 million Indians are now consuming short-video content, with growth increasingly driven by rural and non-metro audiences. India’s active internet user base has crossed 950 million, with 57 per cent of users now coming from rural markets. Yet the frameworks that govern how video consumption is measured and monetised were largely designed for single-language, Western markets and have struggled to keep pace with the scale, diversity and complexity of India’s digital landscape.
Purkayastha is no stranger to these debates. He already serves on the AI Council at Marketing and Media Alliance India and as co-chair of the Digital Entertainment Committee at the Internet and Mobile Association of India. His induction into the IAB SEA+India Video Council extends that influence into the global video standards arena.
Inshorts Group sits squarely at the intersection of these forces. Its flagship product, Inshorts, India’s highest-rated short news app, reaches 12 million active users with 60-word news summaries. Its sister platform, Public App, reaches 80 million monthly active users across more than 700 districts and 12 languages, serving communities that most global platforms barely register.
Purkayastha said the opportunity was about building something more representative. “India today sits at the centre of the global video ecosystem, but the frameworks that define how value is created and measured have not always kept pace with the realities of our market,” he said. “Being part of the IAB SEA+India Video Council is an opportunity to contribute to a more representative and future-ready approach, one that accounts for diversity in language, context, and user intent.”
As a council member, Purkayastha will contribute to shaping regional standards across video advertising, measurement and platform governance, with a focus on frameworks that are native to India’s multilingual, mobile-first ecosystem rather than imported from global benchmarks designed elsewhere.
For years, India has been content to play by rules written for other markets. Purkayastha’s induction is a signal that it is done waiting to be consulted and ready to start writing them.
