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Digitisation: Analogue signals switched off in Delhi & Mumbai, Kolkata resists
NEW DELHI: Digitisation of cable TV began in India on Thursday with the complete switch-off of analogue signals in Delhi and Mumbai, but the government faces resistance in Kolkata given the opposition to the shift from the ruling party in the state.
The Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry has instructed all multi-system operators (MSOs) to certify that their analogue signals have been switched off completely, a move that’s seen as a means to prevent piracy of signals to serve customers still to switch over from analogue.
The status of Chennai, which was the fourth city included in the first phase of digitisation, will be known on Monday, 5 November when the Madras High Court orders further hears a petition by Chennai Metro Cable Operators’ Association (CMCOA).
The ministry has avoided direct confrontation with the Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee by not sending its technical teams to Kolkata to ensure the MSOs there do not continue to deliver television channels in analogue mode.
The technical teams were deployed by the Ministry only in Mumbai and Delhi, where they have ensured that analogue signals are switched off at all the head-ends of MSOs. The ministry, however, has received mixed information from Kolkata on switching off of analogue signals.
I&B secretary Uday Kumar Varma told Indiantelevision.com earlier in the day that the government would not allow analogue television signals to be delivered parallel to digital signals for the benefit of TV households which are still to install digital set-top boxes (STBs).
The government has laid out a road map for digitisation across the country in phases with the last round ending in December 2014.
The ministry has claimed that digitisation in the four metros has touched 91.75 per cent, based on the data provided by MSOs on installation of STBs which then was extrapolated with the 2011 census figures on television households in the four metros.
The ministry has estimated cable TV households in the four metros to be 6.53 million based on 2011 census data. The ministry said the MSOs have informed if that they have installed a total of 6.43 million STBs in the four metros, including in homes with more than one TV sets.
The ministry said digitisation in Delhi had gone up to 101 per cent, in Mumbai to 118 per cent, in Kolkata 85 per cent and in Chennai 63 per cent, but it did not explain how in Delhi and Mumbai the STB installation could be more than 100 per cent. Apparently, the number of STBs deployed include homes with two or more TV sets.
The ministry has asked MSOs to set up canopies/kiosks in poorer colonies to ensure STBs are made available to consumers at the determined price of Rs 799 on the spot. MSOs have also been asked to ensure consumers are not overcharged for the STBs and advised to advertise their telephone numbers where consumers can lodge their complaints against those taking undue advantage of the situation.
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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.
