Scaling vernacular media products for India2 and India3

The challenge

From 2019–21, India’s next wave of internet users was coming online - largely from tier-2 and tier-3 districts, consuming content in their native languages, almost entirely on Android phones.

This wasn’t a translation problem. These users had little patience for clutter, weak networks, low-end devices, and zero loyalty to apps that didn’t deliver value immediately. In vernacular news, demand was massive — but retention was broken. Bounce rates crossed 90%. Distribution was fragmented. Competition from players like DailyHunt, Dainik Bhaskar, TOI and regional apps was intense.

The real question then was simple and uncomfortable:

How do you build products for Bharat that people actually come back to?

The Solution

I hacked and built product and growth across two vernacular media products with one guiding principle:

Design for familiarity, speed, and habit - not novelty.

• Designed the MVP for the Bulletin app, optimised for fast discovery and district-level relevance
• Rolled out a district-first GTM, expanding across 30+ districts instead of chasing vanity scale
• Launched PWA and native apps for Webdunia in 8 Indian languages
• Opened up non-obvious distribution by shipping across Google Play and OEM app stores
• Ran continuous experiments across ASO, onboarding, and UX copy for first-time internet users
• Shipped culturally grounded features like Astrology widgets and video auto-scroll to build daily habits

The Outcome

• 100K+ installs and 75K MAU for Bulletin across 30+ districts
• 50M+ monthly page views across Webdunia web + mobile
• ~30% lift in D7 retention
• Bounce rate reduced from ~90% to ~65%

The Learnings

Building for Bharat wasn’t about simplifying products — it was about respecting context. Cultural relevance, speed, and habits mattered more than elegant flows or global best practices. This work still shapes how i build today: stay close to users, embrace constraints, and optimize for adoption before aesthetics.