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Unregulated growth of TV channels can lead to spectrum crunch: Zohra
NEW DELHI: While spectrum is available, unregulated growth of television channels can lead to a crunch situation, according to Information and Broadcasting Ministry Joint Secretary (Broadcasting) Zohra Chatterjee.
The aim is to act in time to have a set of guidelines for clearing applications for new channels and to know if there is a need to put a cap on the total number in a scenario where the country is already uplinking or downlinking over 500 channels, Chatterjee said.
Chatterjee defended the government’s action in asking the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) to study the number of television channels that can be permitted in the country on the ground that spectrum may not be available for too long.
Asked how so many channels had been permitted until now, she said the Uplinking and Downlinking Guidelines were formulated in November 2005, by which time a large number of channels were already being downlinked.
Addressing a session on the need for a National Media Policy at Convergence 2010, she said in reply to a question that the cable operator was at present responsible for telecast of any channel that was not permitted.
At the same time, she said there was no bar on the local channels that cable operators started on their own catering to their respective areas.
All the participants were unanimous that the time had come for a National media policy.
However, Bharti Telemedia Chief Marketing Officer Sugato Banerji said with digitisation, satellite space would always be there.
Latens Regional Director Asia Rahul Nehra regretted the lack of single window clearance as in neighbouring countries like Nepal.
NSTPL managing director Ankur Jain felt the whole issue about spectrum had been misunderstood. Satellite spectrum is abundantly available, he said, referring to a new satellite to be launched soon by Isro. He regretted the artificial shortage had been created because there was no sharing of infrastructure.
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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.
