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IAMAI event on 8 August to focus on Vas on mobile
MUMBAI: The mobile data services market is projected to grow to Rs 671 billion by 2015, according to a recent report by IAMAI-IMRB.
The study estimates that over 30 per cent of the total mobile revenues would come from mobile data services, contributing 54 per cent of telecom revenue by 2015.
With mobile devices driving consumption for news, social media, e-commerce & banking, video-on-demand, gaming & entertainment, there is a need for the industry to strengthen the existing eco-system. A major challenge that remains for the industry is to drive engagement from customers on the mobile screen utilising the internet.
It is in this background of explosive growth that the IAMAI is organising the Mobile Innovation Conference on 8 August at the Taj Mahal Palace in Mumbai. The conference aims to become a platform to encourage industry leaders – both from the telcos and providers of mobile data platforms and services – to come together and collaborate on the future of engaging customers on mobiles.
Highlighting the need of the industry to look at revenues beyond traditional means, the event will open with a key note address by Vishwanath Alluri (Founder & CEO – IMImobile) on mobile ‘mEngagement – Its Present, Future & Relevance to businesses in India.’ Idea Cellular managing director Himanshu Kapania will also be speaking at the event on ‘Services beyond Voice and SMS‘ in the mobile space.
IAMAI president Dr. Subho Ray said, “Thus far, the mobile industry has focused on aggregating numbers for mobile usage. While MVAS provided consumers with information, entertainment and utility services and generated incremental revenues for operators, the time is now ripe to move beyond MVAS and focus on enterprise adoption of mobile technologies for greater business productivity. A robust and proven mobile data services platform that can act as a bridge between operators and enterprises is needed. Such a platform can drive enterprise adoption of mobile and open up new revenue streams for operators.”
The Mobile Innovation Conference will feature participation from prominent industry thought leaders like Neeraj Roy (Managing Director & CEO – Hungama), Anisha Singh (Founder & Chief Executive Officer – mydala.com), Jonathan Bill (Senior Vice President and Business Development – Vodafone India), Beerud Sheth (Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer – SMS Gupshup) and Sunil Kamath (Sales Director- India & SAARC – Opera Software).
IAMAI & IMImobile will also be releasing a joint study on ‘Mobile Adoption: State of Indian Enterprises’ during the inaugural session of the event.
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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.
