iWorld
YouTube starts rolling out YouTube Shorts, a TikTok like platform, in India
KOLKATA: After TikTok was banned in India, the short format video app category has seen a rapid explosion of small and big players attempting to fill the void. While the first wave of these players were the homegrown apps, the second wave is seeing interest from the tech giants. YouTube is rolling out a new short-form video creator called YouTube Shorts in India.
It is launching a beta version of the new feature in India which includes a new camera and a handful of editing tools that will be rolling out over the course of the next few weeks. YouTube will continue to add more features over the coming months. The new platform will let people make 15-second videos.
“This is an early version of the product, but we're releasing it now to bring you — our global community of users, creators and artists — on our journey with us as we build and improve Shorts. We’ll continue to add more features and expand to more countries in the coming months as we learn from you and listen to your feedback. Here are more details on what to expect,” YouTube said in a blog post.
For android users in India, users will see the “Create” icon has moved to the middle of the bottom navigation bar to make it easier for them to create videos right from the YouTube app.
Read more coverage on India’s short video ecosystem
Recently, Instagram has launched the short video platform Reel to fill the vacay created by TikTok. It has been able to divert the media spends but has not created an impact like TikTok yet. Now, time will say how it pans out for YouTube which has created cultural phenomenon across the years.
iWorld
YRF to invest Rs 150 crore in micro-drama slate and D2C app as per sources
Rs 150 crore bet on mobile-first content and owned digital distribution play.
MUMBAI: Big stories, smaller screens and a sizeable cheque to match. Yash Raj Films is reportedly committing Rs 150 crore to build a micro-drama content slate alongside a direct-to-consumer app, signalling a clear pivot towards mobile-first storytelling and owned digital distribution. The investment will be split between producing short-format content and developing a proprietary platform to host it, marking a shift away from traditional release models towards direct audience engagement.
The initiative as per sources is expected to be led by chief executive officer Akshaye Widhani, who previously backed Saiyaara, described as the studio’s most profitable film to date. As part of the expansion, Saugata Mukherjee has come on board to steer creative development across films, streaming projects, and the new micro-drama vertical.
Mukherjee brings experience from SonyLiv, where he helped shape premium, narrative-led originals that cut through an increasingly crowded streaming landscape. His appointment underlines YRF’s intent to build a differentiated content pipeline as it enters a format still finding its creative and commercial footing in India.
The move also reflects a broader industry shift. Micro-dramas are emerging within a fast-evolving interactive media ecosystem that spans audio platforms, social discovery formats, and niche genres such as devotional and astrology-led content. As consumption habits tilt further towards mobile, snackable storytelling is gaining ground both as a creative format and a monetisation play.
On the revenue front, digital payments remain central to this ecosystem. Around 71 per cent of users are said to rely on UPI autopay for subscriptions, underscoring the importance of seamless, recurring payment infrastructure as platforms scale.
The stakes are rising. The wider interactive media segment is projected to grow into a $3.1–3.4 billion market by FY30, with micro-dramas expected to be among the fastest-growing categories, outpacing traditional short-form video.
For YRF, the bet is clear, in a world of shrinking attention spans, the next blockbuster might just be bite-sized.
