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Chennai cable ops to file fresh petition challenging Govt‘s notification on DAS
MUMBAI: The Chennai Metro Cable Operators Association (CMCOA) is all set to file a fresh petition challenging the notification of digitisation issued by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) in April this year.
CMCOA General Secretary M R Srinivasan told Indiantelevision.com that the two member bench of Justice Elipe Dharma Rao and Aruna Jagadeesan told the cable operators to file a fresh petition against the government notification of the Cable Television Networks Rules, 2012.
"We will file a new petition challenging the government‘s notification order," Srinivasan said.
The CMCOA had filed a petition seeking postponement of cable digitisation in Chennai by at least three months till 31 January citing shortage of set-top boxes (STB). The deadline for the first phase of digitisation in the four metro cities was 31 October.
The Madras High Court had on 31 October stayed the digitisation in Chennai till 5 November. The Court again extended the deadline till 9 November following which it was again put off till 19 November.
The Court had on Tuesday adjourned the hearing of CMCOA‘s petition to Wednesday due to recusal of Justice P.P.S. Janarthanaraja from the case. The judge recused himself from the case citing possible conflict of interest since his son works for Sun TV, whose lawyer is representing one of the respondents in the case.
Justice Janarthanaraja, along with Justice Paul Vasanthakumar, was expected to hear the petition. This will now be heard by the new bench comprising Justice Dharma Rao and Jagadeesan.
CMCOA‘s Srinivasan said that the local cable operators (LCOs) in Chennai are a confused lot since state-run Arasu Cable, the dominant MSO in the state, is yet to receive a DAS (digital addressable system) licence for Chennai.
The cable operators like in other parts of Tamil Nadu can‘t align with any other MSO other than Arasu. He also reasoned that the LCOs will not buy STBs from any other MSO fearing that if Arasu gets the licence then all their investments would go waste.
"LCOs in Chennai have no choice but to go with Arasu. The I&B ministry should take a decision whether or not it wants to give a licence to Arasu. This will at least bring some clarity," he lamented.
As many as 11 MSOs have got DAS licence to operate in Chennai.
In the event of Arasu failing to get a DAS licence, the LCOs would take a call independently on their MSO partner, Srinivasan said. But for that the government needs to take a decision immediately, he added.
As Indiantelevision.com had reported, the MIB is having second thoughts on granting licences to Arasu fearing that similar demands might come from other state governments.
Add to that the latest diktat by MIB to the broadcast sector regulator Trai to bring rules in place to keep a check on monopolies in the cable TV distribution space at a local, state and regional level.
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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.
