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Shiv Sena joins extend digitisation deadline chorus
MUMBAI: After Chennai and Kolkata, the government is facing political opposition in Mumbai with Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray warning the centre that any move to switch-off TV signals to analogue cable homes post the digitisation deadline will be fiercely opposed.
Taking a dig at Congress-led UPA government for failing to control inflation, Thackeray said that the government has further burdened the common man by making it compulsory to purchase set-top boxes, which costs anywhere between Rs 1000 to Rs 1200.
Thackeray also warned the government that the deadline is close to the festive season and any efforts to switch off signals to analogue homes would result in protest from common man.
“With the Diwali festival round the corner, many poor families are unable to afford it (STB) in these times of high inflation. Where will they get this money from suddenly? We shall not allow this type of compulsion on the people to install an STB,” Thackeray said in a statement in party mouthpiece Saamna.
Echoing Thackeray‘s sentiment, Shiv Sena leader and Cable Operators Association president Anil Parab said that the Information & Broadcasting ministry must extend the deadline by at least two months till December as 30 per cent homes are still to be seeded with STBs. This is contrary to government‘s claim that 100 per cent digitisation has been achieved.
“We did a review and found out that only 70 per cent of the homes have been digitised. Therefore we have requested the government to extend the deadline. Otherwise it will lead to law and order problem,” Parab said.
The 30 per cent homes that are yet to be seeded mostly fall in slum areas, he added.
The deadline for the first phase of digitisation covering the four metro cities of Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata is 31 October. As per Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Amendment Bill 2011, all television homes will have to compulsorily switch to digital cable in a phased manner.
Earlier, the government had faced opposition from Mamata Bannerjee-led Trinamool Congress in Kolkata while the Tamil Nadu government owned Arasu Corporation is also wanting extension of deadline in Chennai.
The cable operators association from both the Kolkata and Chennai have also urged the government to extend the digitisation deadline in order to allow cable operators to install STBs in all the consumer homes.
Also read:
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Chennai cable ops say Govt’s digital STB figures faulty
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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.
