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Madras HC to hear petition of cable ops on Tuesday
MUMBAI: The Madras High Court has pushed the hearing of Chennai cable operators petition challenging the government‘s digitisation notification to Tuesday.
The petition filed by Chennai Metro Cable Operators Association (CMCOA) seeks to postpone the implementation of digitisation in Chennai.
Counsels appearing on behalf of the petitioner as well as the respondents requested the court for time before the case came up for hearing.
Following the request, the two-member bench of Justice Elipe Dharma Rao and Aruna Jagadeesan adjourned the matter till Tuesday.
There are 18 respondents in the petition which includes the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) besides the Multi System Operators (MSOs) from Chennai.
The CMCOA had earlier filed a petition seeking postponement of cable digitisation in Chennai by at least three months following which the DAS implementation was stayed by the Court.
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 put off till 19 November.
The matter is still pending before the court which had told the CMCOA to challenge the centre‘s digitisation notification rather than seeking extension.
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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.
