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I&B should reconsider revocation of DAS licence to Home Cable: HC
NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has asked the Information and Broadcasting Ministry to take a decision on restoring the licence for digital addressable system to the multi-system operator Home Cable Network [P] Limited within three days.
The order by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice Vipin Sanghi says that the order is subject to Home Cable filing ‘within 24 hours‘ all DAS related information sought by the Ministry.
The Court also permitted the MSO to negotiate and enter into the DAS Interconnect Agreements with the Pay TV broadcasters/ Channel aggregators.
The registration of Home Cable and Swami Cable Network had been revoked by the Ministry on 28 August on the ground that they had failed to submit necessary documents.
Both the MSOs were registered with the Ministry and had been asked to furnish information regarding preparations for implementation of DAS and their plans for infrastructure expansion as mandated in the DAS regime.
Senior Advocate Aman Lekhi and Gaurang Kanth, counsel for Home Cable, argued that the impugned order was mala fide and prejudiced against the Petitioner.
It was argued that there was no ground available with the MIB to take such a punitive action against the MSO, which already had already installed DAS and had been running it since 2007 and catering to more than 11,000 Digital subscribers since Conditional Access System was introduced in South Delhi with a capacity to carry 650 digital TV channels.
It was also submitted that Home Cable had failed to get replies to various issues cited by it to the Ministry concerning the interest of millions of the Cable TV subscribers and may result in a situation of complete chaos, blackouts, exploitation of consumers and eventually deficiency in the service provided when DAS is implemented from 1 November in the four metros.
When revoking the licences, the Ministry had said the non submission of data by these MSOs “is indicative of their lack of seriousness to pursue their business as per the terms and conditions of their registration”, adding that in the overall context of implementation of DAS it had taken a serious view of the non compliance of directions of the Ministry by these two MSOs and revoked their registration after due notice.
When contacted, Home Cable founder-promoter Vikki Choudhry told indiantelevision.com that he had submitted all information according to the format of the Ministry and also sent a Consumers‘ Charter, in keeping with the Court order.
A perusal of the documents submitted shows that while there is demand for 40,000 digital set top boxes, Home Cable had installed 9869 as in 18 October and placed orders for another 30,000 since he has only 400 STBs in stock.
The document also states that he had placed the order on 9 August for the Chinese-made STBs, and he expected to seed all cable homes by 31 December this year.
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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.
