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3G auction: Bids slow down at process completes two weeks
NEW DELHI: The top bid for 3G – which has already reached more than double the opening price – appeared to be slowing down, with just a marginal increase to Rs 10832.7 million for Delhi at the end of 76 rounds on the 13th day today.
However, with Mumbai‘s final bid rising to Rs 10799.3 million, it showed every sign of overtaking Delhi with a price increment application of Rs 400 million for tomorrow as against just Rs 108.3 million for Delhi.
The rest of Maharashtra peaked at Rs 7691 million, with Tamil Nadu at Rs 7468.4 million. Karnataka closed at Rs 6913.4 million while Andhra Pradesh had a bid of Rs 6851.6 million and Gujarat closed at Rs 6316.5 million. Kerala rose marginally to Rs 2561.8 million while Kolkata clocked Rs 2411.6 million respectively.
The bids for some states are expected to rise very little, with no applications for price increment for tomorrow‘s round. These include Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Haryana, West and East Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Assam, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and the North-East.
West Uttar Pradesh clocked Rs 3005.7 million. Punjab stopped at Rs 1448.8 million and Haryana closed at Rs 2182 million. Madhya Pradesh and Bihar rose marginally to Rs 2362.7 million and Rs 344.1 million respectively. Rajasthan rose to Rs 2479.8 million and that of Assam and Orissa to Rs 309 million.
The bids for some states remained unchanged: East Uttar Pradesh at Rs 2575.1 million, West Bengal at Rs 1236.3 million, the North-East at Rs 306 million, and Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh service areas at Rs 300 million each.
The telecom operators in the race are Aircel, Bharti Airtel, Etisalat DB Telecom, Idea Cellular, Reliance, S Tel, Tata Teleservices, Videocon Telecommunications and Vodafone Essar.
The successful bidders would be allowed to start commercial 3G operations from 1 September.
A total of 11 telecom companies- Aircel Ltd, Augere (Mauritius), Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular, Infotel Broadband Services, Qualcomm, Reliance WiMax, Spice Internet Service Provider, Tata Communications Internet Services, Tikona Digital Networks and Vodafone Essar – have qualified for the BWA auction, according to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).
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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.
