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Vertical integration dominates panel discussion
GOA: “The issue of how distribution pipes develop in India is important, just like other parts in the world – do you want to be a dumb pipe or an intelligent pipe?” asked Star India president and general counsel Deepak Jacob “so one of the important things the regulators need to be careful about on cross media ownership for instance is not to discourage vertical integration but encourage the process.”
“This benefits the consumer in the long-term especially if there is effective competition at the last mile; look at the US, where Comcast has ownership of NBC, for instance, or other markets, where vertical integration has helped provide real differentiation for the consumer, “ added Jacob.
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“Differentiated and local pipes are important,” said DEN chairman Sameer Manchanda. “Look, we in cable have an enormous advantage in our strength of locality and we need to capitalise on this.”
“In DTH, I don’t see us as just a technology pipe – we curate, package and run a very modern and innovative HD business, providing real estate for lots of content and lots of new services,” said Tata Sky CEO Harit Nagpal.
“I also don’t think the regulators have created too many stumbling blocks; the main issue is that we as an industry should not run to the regulator to solve our problem. It impedes business models. We need to work out our own solutions.”
TRAI principal advisor M Parameswaran concluded: “Look, we at TRAI do not want to be a micro regulator; we want the industry to enable its own business models.”
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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.
