Applications
Content consumption devices to boost mobile Vas revenues
MUMBAI: The data revenues for mobile operators are bound to grow in the years to come with media consumption devices that are technologically consumer-friendly. However, operators have to find a way to monetize this.
This was one of the points that came out during a session at Ficci Frames. The speakers were Nokia India marketing director Vineet Taneja, Intel Global content and policy manager Gary Mittelstaedt, Turner International India director – wireless and interactive content development and distribution, (South Asia) Troy Lobo, Dolby Laboratories marketing director (Mobile) Rolf Schmitz, Tata Teleservices’ Pankaj Sethi, and Comviva VP (mobile content solutions) Milind Pathak.
Sethi said his company had just launched netbooks with high speed net access. “We are seeing more net led content being consumed and not just operator generated content”.
Lobo claimed that 10 per cent of Turner India’s revenues come from digital devices. This covers net, mobile and retail. The company is planning to launch SMS based alerts for CNN later this year. It is also looking at a news application. “The challenge is to fix standards for different devices. We adopt a multiple system of content distribution.” A deal was recently struck with Tata Photon+ for Pogo and Cartoon Network. Nokia, Samsung and Sony are some of the mobile device manufacturers that Turner works with globally.
Mittelstaedt said that at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas this year, Intel had introduced the 32 nanometer product which offers more power to high end mobile devices. A point made at the session was that content for the mobile has to be contextual and relevant. It would be useful if there was a system through which someone could buy a film song for the mobile after seeing a film rather than just having a memory card. Intel also set up the App Up so that application developers have access to a broad product category.
It was felt that content publishers often do not understand the intricacies of what goes into building an app in India. There is not much expertise at the moment in terms of how one can publish TV content as widget in India. Some investment has to go into app developers. The lack of quality content is a reason for low Vas revenues at the moment.
Pathak said the depth of mobile consumption has to grow, and a buyer should be able to get Vas like music for a year along with the device. One should build apps that are exclusive. The mobile market should also be segmented according to spending and SEC. Even phones with a 2 GB camera, Facebook connectivity etc. could be considered.
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.
