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Consumer trust deficit a challenge in growing mobile Vas revenues
MUMBAI: While the mobile Value Added Service (mVas) market is expected to grow to Rs. 671 billion by 2015 which would account for 30 per cent of mobile revenue, there are challenges. One challenge is the lack of consumer trust in data services. The focus of operators should rest on building relevance of services to the consumer.
This point was made at the Mobile Innovation Conference organised by IAMAI. Idea Cellular MD Himanshu Kapania spoke on ‘Services Beyond Voice and SMS‘. He noted that handset users have to be made aware of the benefits of accessing the net. For Vas revenues to grow, technology, big ideas and platforms are needed to help the process but consumers also have to believe in the value. “For mobile data to grow in terms of revenue you need a great network. At the same time you cannot leapfrog technology.”
He disagreed with the view held in some circles that 4G would bypass 3G. “2G users will upgrade to affordable 3G handsets which costs $70. This price will go down to $35-$50. This is where the takeoff will happen. What is happening today in China will happen in India in the coming four years.”
“The mobile data business has to move from push to pull. Operators cannot force feed applications on to consumers. Consumers have to demand services, which is why AT&T is doing so well in the US. Consumers have to be at the centre of what is being done. Mobile operators need to spend time on understanding consumers and why they aren‘t happy.”
He also stressed the fact that mobile operators and Mvas companies need to work in a partnership and there should be a long term plan. Also the government should be seen as a friend and not as an adversary. “People should have choice, ease of access and the ability to discover services in the manner that they want to.”
Applications
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.
