Applications
UTV New Media launches voice blogging for Raajneeti
MUMBAI: UTV New Media, the digital arm of UTV Software Communications Ltd, has launched a voice blogging service for its film Raajneeti.
Getting the entire cast and crew to interact with their fans, this service will have movie stars upload personalised voice blogs about the film tits-bits and gossip from the sets and from their city visits and more.
Exploring new frontiers of promotion in the mobile space, this initiative will have director Prakash Jha along with the cast, personally blogging on the film through the IVR platform.
By dialing *5140* on Airtel mobiles, this service will allow fans to connect with their favourite stars of Raajneeti. The cast of the film will share lesser known facts, behind the scenes drama, interesting gossip and their on-location experiences all available at the push of a button.
Starting 10 May, these celebrities will also record live blogs from the Raajneeti rally which is being held across seven cities.
UTV New Media has also deviced a exciting contest, across all mobile operators on voice for which fans can dial 53035 and register a vote for their own city. The city with the highest number of votes will witness a visit by the whole lot of star cast of Raajneeti, with one lucky winner getting an opportunity to meet and greet the stars. This service is available across operators.
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.
