Applications
Rediff.com launches Realtime News App for Windows 8
MUMBAI: Rediff.com India Limited, India‘s leading online provider of news, information, communication, entertainment and shopping services, has launched its Realtime News App for Microsoft‘s latest operating system, Windows 8.
The launch marks the company‘s continued efforts to innovate the delivery of information to users across multiple devices and technology platforms, and extend its leadership in the online news marketplace.
Rediff‘s Realtime News App now brings India as it happens to the new generation of touch screen devices and laptops powered by the Windows 8 operating system. The user interface conforms to the Metro UX style of the Windows 8 platform, thus enabling a seamless experience while browsing the app for news.
With the latest headlines and top stories visible at a glance, users now have a better sense of what is happening at that moment across 30,000 Indian and International publications. Users can simply swipe and touch their surface tablets or enjoy the desktop version of the app.
The top stories are presented in an image-rich, tiled view organized into six categories of Top News, World News, Entertainment, Business, Cricket and Sports. Choosing a category tile takes the user to the top stories in that category. The top stories are consolidated by clustering all the available news articles in that category. Selecting a story takes the user to the full article on the original news source.
Additionally, readers can share articles with their family, friends and colleagues using the Windows 8 Share charm, without leaving the application they are currently using. Windows 8 live tile notifications keep the user updated with the latest headlines that are being published, even when the app is not fired up. The app conforms to the snapped view of Windows 8 thus enabling the user to follow news while doing other things on the device.
Rediff.com India Chairman and CEO Ajit Balakrishnan stated, “We believe the large scale adoption of broadband on PC and mobile devices in India is imminent and we continue to focus on our vision and strategy of positioning Rediff for the anticipated explosion of growth. The development of our applications, specifically for the Realtime News service, is a deliberate step in that direction.”
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.
