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Community radio to get free spectrum
NEW DELHI: The Department of Telecom has been asked to issue detailed guidelines by 12 October to bring into force a decision to totally waive spectrum fee for community radio services.
Instructions to this effect have been issued by the Communications & IT Minister Kapil Sibal, following requests received from National Advisory Council, Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry, and the Community Radio Association.
Sibal said the Government‘s role is to create an enabling environment for CRS, and he wanted guidelines to ensure that the spectrum is optimally used and the channels use these airwaves only to inform and empower the common man.
It was felt that in the interest of inclusive and informed society, it is apt that Government provides the spectrum (airwaves) for CRS at zero cost. Although this may result in an opportunity cost of around Rs. 2.5 million to the Government, the cost is far outweighed by the benefit of informed, empowered and inclusive local communities and the nation.
The move to waive spectrum and royalty fee on community radio stations has come as a major relief for a sector that was just beginning to find its feet, with just 132 stations operational out of the 370 licenses issued by the Government.
Sustainability is the biggest challenge for CRS. Community radio focuses on low cost and low return pattern of operations. Donor funding is crucial for CRS. As most of the donors come from local communities, this financing option is inadequate and irregular for CRS operating in remote areas and for the marginalised sections of the society.
The move would help educational institutes, non-government organisations, small communities and gram panchayats – many of which had received licences but had not been able to commence operations in view of the high spectrum fee.
The government had earlier this year said it was planning to raise the spectrum fee for these stations from Rs 19,000 to Rs 93,000.
The Wireless Planning & Coordination (WPC) wing of the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology had for last nine months stopped giving clearance, leading to 166 new applicants awaiting clearance.
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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.
