Tag: The Lallantop

AI meets news: India Today leads the way

MUMBAI: When it comes to news, India Today is taking a deeper dive. The media giant has become the first in the APAC region to launch Taboola’s Deeperdive, a Gen AI answer engine designed to bring instant, trustworthy answers straight to readers on its own sites.

Deeperdive taps into decades of India Today’s rich editorial content, allowing readers to ask questions on anything from election analysis to trending stories, and get AI-powered answers sourced from trusted journalists. The engine even suggests related queries, keeping users engaged longer and exploring more of the site.

“Pioneering journalism means being future-ready,” said India Today Group vice chairperson and executive editor-in-chief Kalli Purie. “With Deeperdive, we’re offering richer experiences, staying connected to our readers, and unlocking new AI-powered frontiers of engagement and monetisation.”

Taboola CEO and founder Adam Singolda added, “India Today is a must-visit destination for news and analysis. Deeperdive lets them join the Gen AI revolution on their own terms, delivering trusted answers while opening search-like advertising opportunities.”

Built to understand the “pulse of the internet,” Deeperdive analyses trends from over 600 million daily users across 9,000 publishers. Unlike traditional AI engines, it uses real-time data to deliver timely, contextual insights, ensuring readers get answers that matter, right when they need them.

For publishers, this means longer reader engagement, more site exploration, and high-intent ad revenue within their own environments, all while maintaining a seamless, intuitive experience.

With 50 years of journalistic excellence and a digital presence spanning Aaj Tak, Business Today, and The Lallantop, India Today is leveraging AI not just to keep pace with change, but to lead it, showing that when it comes to content, the future is very much now.

October 7, 2025
Aaj Tak reels in half of Insta news buzz with 110 million actions

MUMBAI: When it comes to news on the ’gram, Aaj Tak isn’t just scrolling, it’s ruling. The Hindi news giant has clinched a staggering 51 per cent share of Instagram actions in August 2025, according to the latest Comscore Social report, making it the undisputed champion of digital engagement.

The numbers tell the story. Aaj Tak racked up an eye-popping 110 million total actions on Instagram, dwarfing its nearest competitor News24, which managed 26.3 million (12.3 per cent share). The gulf only widens from there: ABP News clocked 21.5 million (10 per cent), The Lallantop 13.6 million (6.3 per cent), and NDTV India 12.4 million (5.8 per cent). The rest, from Zee News to Republic Bharat, trailed in single digits.

What’s driving this dominance? Aaj Tak’s digital-first playbook: snappy Reels, interactive storytelling, and a sharp grasp of Gen Z and millennial habits. The strategy doesn’t just deliver eyeballs; it’s delivering engagement that outstrips the combined total of all its rivals put together.

For brands, the implications are hard to miss. With half the Hindi news universe’s Instagram buzz flowing through its account, Aaj Tak offers a reach and resonance that no competitor can match.

The Comscore recognition cements what viewers and advertisers already know: Aaj Tak has successfully married editorial credibility with social-native flair. In an age where attention spans are measured in seconds, the channel has mastered the art of turning the scroll into a stop and then into a share.

September 18, 2025
News Tak hits 1 crore YouTube subscribers

Mumbai: India Today Group’s digital-first channel, News Tak, has crossed the milestone of 1 crore (10M) YouTube subscribers. To add on to this success, the channel has further expanded its online presence with a newly launched website: www.newstak.in

News Tak has been at the forefront in covering the national news and has captivated a vast audience. This achievement of reaching 1 crore subscribers accentuates the channel’s focus on providing top-notch news coverage spanning politics and trending topics.

“We live in an era where information travels at the speed of light, and in this digital age, knowledge is the currency of our time. For News Tak, our mobile first news channel, to hit this milestone is really special. There has been an internal competition on who would among all our 23 Tak channels hit the 10 million mark first. I am happy it’s News Tak because it was the first Tak channel we launched. The competition amongst the others now intensifies. Watch this space,” remarked India Today Group vice chairperson Kallie Purie.

With a clear editorial focus to cover Indian politics from across the country, the website will report news around national politics in a focused and unbiased manner. In the past one year Tak group of channels have successfully moved to native-platforms in various geographies like Mumbai, Uttar Pradesh, MP, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Chhattisgarh.

India Today Group CEO (Tak channels & The Lallantop) Vivek Gaur said, “We had more than 348 million page views & 3.27 billion video views on YouTube in the last quarter alone. With the launch of the website, www.newstak.in, we will further strengthen our portfolio.” He added, “Our aim is to keep our viewers and readers informed about the latest happenings in the country. The launch of the New Tak website is a part of our effort to reinforce the trust of the viewers who have supported us on this journey.”

September 20, 2023
Josh Talks appoints Darpan Sah as vice president–YouTube

MUMBAI: Regional content and upskilling platform, Josh Talks has appointed Darpan Sah as vice president–YouTube. In this role, he will be leading the expansion of Josh Talks’ content channels on YouTube, which are already present in 10 regional languages and three categories.

In a career spanning over a decade, Sah has worked with various corporate brands across the industries. Before joining Josh Talks, he served as the chief sub-editor at new-age Hindi digital news brand, The Lallantop where he played an instrumental role to scale their subscriber base from one million to 20 million. He was recently awarded at the ENBA Awards 2021 for two shows that he produced at The Lallantop – Ek Naya Paisa and Kharcha Pani.

On the appointment, Josh Talks CEO & co-founder Supriya Paul said, “Majority of our viewers come from Tier 2+ cities and have different content preferences. Our team closely monitors these needs, identifies gaps, and creates videos that then get 85 million+ views every month. Our goal for the next few months is to double down on this distribution by expanding into more regional languages, going hyper-local, and creating compelling content that seamlessly blends inspiration and information. I’m confident that with Darpan’s in-depth understanding and with his expertise in scaling video-first content, we will scale Josh Talks’ network of channels to new heights!”

Darpan Sah said, “It has been incredible to follow Josh Talks’ journey and witness them build one of the largest regional content platforms in India. I am excited to join their team and look forward to leading their content expansion plans as they go deeper into every district and dialect of India. As part of this strategy, we will be launching a slew of new channels in the districts of Bihar and Josh Bhojpuri in the next quarter.”

As a writer, Sah has created numerous pieces covering gender equality, the rights of women and the LGBTQ+ community, and other pertinent issues that form the bedrock of the Indian community. In 2016, he published his first book “Luka Jhanki”, an anthology of Hindi poems, and is currently working on his second book, which is a collection of short stories.

With a subscriber base of over 16 million, Josh Talks has recorded more than 2 billion total views across its channels. In FY 2021-22, their revenue from YouTube has grown by 118 per cent on a year-over-year basis with Hindi, English, and Marathi, being a few of their top-performing channels, the company said in a statement.

June 1, 2022