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Alva Brothers forays into the digital space
MUMBAI: Alva Brothers Entertainment (ABE) has announced its foray into the new media domain with the launch of a digital division.
The division will develop digital properties for the group, as well as syndicate premium content to key partners, in areas like web, interactive and mobile services. Its portfolio includes content across categories like lifestyle, education, and infotainment, for urban and rural audiences.
The company has also appointed Shruti Gupta as business head-digital to spearhead the division. Gupta comes with over 10 years of experience in media houses, with the most recent being at NDTV Convergence where she was heading the content vertical for mobile value added services.
Alva Brothers Entertainment CEO Nikhil Alva said, “The division between the traditional and digital mediums is rapidly diminishing. We want our audience to be able to access our content across devices, as best suited to their needs and preferences. We firmly believe in the triple-screen play, and are fully geared up to create quality offerings across mediums. With the ever-increasing number of mobile and internet users, we are very positive about the opportunities that the market possesses. We are also bullish on the prospects that 3G has opened up, especially for producers of premium video content.”
Gupta said, “We are creating specialised video content that offers a rich viewing experience on mobile and computer screens. We believe that with the boom in high-end devices, better bandwidths, and competitive tariff situations, the digital consumer is looking for more than repurposed television content. Our focus is on products that are relevant, informative and entertaining. We will extend these products to local languages and localised content, to add a wider appeal.”
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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.
