Applications
HITS: Trai seeks views of stakeholders on tariff issues
NEW DELHI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has asked stakeholders to give their opinion on whether the tariff model for Headend-In-The-Sky (HITS) should be based on the DTH, conditional access system (Cas), or non-Cas system.
In a consultation paper on “Interconnection and Tariff issues related to HITS services” consequent to the guidelines for providing HITS broadcasting service in India issued by the Government on 26 November 2009, Trai has also sought to know how the tariff model will be regulated and the views of the stakeholders on carriage and placement fee.
The consultation paper follows the Information and Broadcasting Ministry’s reference to Trai on 10 December last to revisit the Interconnection Regulations and issue tariff orders for promotion of HITS services.
The Authority has invited all stakeholders to respond to the issues raised in the consultation paper by 26 April.
Among other things, Trai also wants to know the revenue shares of broadcaster, HITS operator, and cable operator, the retail tariff for subscribers for pay channels, and whether there should be any minimum tariff for the subscribers.
Suggestions have also been sought on any other model to regulate the tariff for HITS service, and whether the quantum of carriage and placement fee should be linked to some parameters. Stakeholders have also been asked to give their views on putting a cap on the quantum of carriage and placement fee and how this will be fixed.
Stakeholders have been asked to suggest any further amendments to implement HITS policy.
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.
