iWorld
Truecaller dials up policy muscle, taps Aruna Sundararajan for board role
MUMBAI: Truecaller is adding some serious regulatory firepower to its boardroom. The Stockholm-based caller ID giant has nominated Aruna Sundararajan—former telecom policy chief and digital transformation architect—for a seat on its board, ahead of the company’s annual general meeting (AGM) scheduled for 23 May.
The nomination comes as part of a broader recommendation from the Truecaller AB nomination committee, which also proposed the re-election of all existing board members—Nami Zarringhalam, Alan Mamedi, Annika Poutiainen, Helena Svancar, and Shailesh Lakhani.
Sundararajan is no stranger to tech and governance. The former secretary at India’s ministry of electronics and IT and department of telecommunications has steered some of the country’s most ambitious digital infrastructure and policy initiatives. She now chairs the Broadband India Forum and sits on the boards of Delhivery, Info Edge, L&T Technology Services, and India’s National Bank for Infra Financing and Development (NaBFID).
“We are very pleased with the nomination of Aruna Sundararajan as a new board member of Truecaller. She possesses extensive experience in policy and regulatory matters within technology and has board experience from several listed companies in India. Her appointment as a new board member is expected to significantly enhance the board’s collective expertise and competence in these areas. With this addition the Board will consist of six board members with well diversified competences and experiences,” said Truecaller’s nomination committee chair Kamjar Hajabdolahi. “Her addition will level up the board’s strategic depth at a time when digital trust and global expansion are front and centre.”
The committee, comprising reps from top shareholders and co-founder Alan Mamedi, will publish its full slate of proposals and justifications alongside the AGM notice.
Founded in 2009 and listed on Nasdaq Stockholm since 2021, Truecaller has become a default defence against spam and scam calls globally. With over 450 million active users, the app blocked nearly 56 billion unwanted calls in 2024—making it one of the world’s most widely used caller ID platforms.
With Sundararajan’s potential onboarding, Truecaller is ringing in not just experience—but influence that matters.
iWorld
Micro-Dramas Surge in India, Redefining Mobile Content Habits
Meta-Ormax study maps rapid rise of short-form storytelling among 18–44 audiences.
MUMBAI: Micro-dramas aren’t just short, they’re the snack that ate Indian entertainment, and now everyone’s bingeing between the sofa cushions. Meta, in partnership with Ormax Media, has released ‘Micro Dramas: The India Story’, a comprehensive study unveiled at the inaugural Meta Marketing Summit: Micro-Drama Edition. The report maps how the vertical, bite-sized format is reshaping content consumption for mobile-first audiences aged 18–44 across 14 states.
Conducted between November 2025 and January 2026 through 50 in-depth interviews and 2,000 personal surveys, the research reveals that 65 per cent of viewers discovered micro-dramas within the last year proof of explosive adoption. Nearly 89 per cent encounter the format through social feeds and recommendations, making algorithm-driven discovery the primary engine rather than active search.
Key viewing patterns show a median of 3.5 hours per week (about 30 minutes daily) spread across 7–8 short sessions. Consumption peaks between 8 pm and midnight, with additional spikes during commutes and work breaks classic “in-between moments” that the format fills perfectly. Around 57 per cent of viewing happens in ambient mode (while doing something else), and 90 per cent is solo, enabling more intimate, personal storytelling.
Romance, family drama and comedy lead genre preferences. Audiences show growing openness to AI-generated content, 47 per cent find it unique and creative, while only 6 per cent say they would avoid it entirely. Regional languages are surging after Hindi and English, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada dominate consumption.
Meta, director, media & entertainment (India) Shweta Bajpai said, “Micro-drama isn’t a passing trend, it’s rewriting the rules of Indian entertainment. In under a year, an entirely new category of platforms has emerged, built audience habits from scratch, and created a business vertical that is scaling fast.”
Ormax Media founder-CEO Shailesh Kapoor added, “Micro-dramas are beginning to show the early signs of becoming a distinct content category in India’s digital entertainment landscape. When a format aligns closely with how audiences naturally engage with their devices, it has the potential to scale very quickly.”
The study proposes ecosystem-wide responsibility, universal signposting of commercial intent, shared accountability among advertisers, platforms, creators, schools and parents, built-in safeguards, and formal media literacy in schools.
In a feed that never sleeps and a day that never stops, micro-dramas have slipped into the cracks of every spare minute turning 30-second stories into the new national pastime, one vertical swipe at a time.
