By Nishant Arora

New Delhi, Oct 14 (IANS): After taking an initiative to encourage creators to develop inclusive and diverse content with responsibility on its main platform in India, Google-owned YouTube is set to extend the same pledge to its short-video app called Shorts that is gaining immense popularity in the country, Satya Raghavan, Director of YouTube Content Partnerships, India, said on Thursday.

YouTube Shorts was first launched in India last year, and has since been expanded to over 100 countries.

"India was the first country in which we launched YouTube Shorts, and we've seen amazing responses from across the spectrum. We have discovered that a diverse set of content is coming from smaller towns and different backgrounds on the Shorts platform," Raghavan told IANS in an interaction.

"It's upon us how we can extend the #CreateWithCare campaign to new types of creators who are coming onto the Shorts platform. It is our responsibility to help them create content in a responsible manner," he added.

YouTube Shorts is receiving 3.5 billion daily views on the global level, and India is among the countries leading the figures.

According to the latest data from management consulting firm Bain & Company, three in four Internet users -- or 600 to 650 million Indians -- will consume short-form videos by 2025, with active users spending up to 55 to 60 minutes of such content per day.

More than 200 million Indians watched short-form videos at least once in 2020, with daily active users spending up to 45 minutes a day on these platforms.

As the video consumption grows, there lies a greater responsibility on platforms like YouTube to make sure people are watching responsible creator content.

To ensure this, YouTube has launched #CreateWithCare, its latest initiative in India that partners with leading creators to preserve and promote a diverse, inclusive community on YouTube that can drive responsible growth.

"#CreateWithCare aligns with our mission to empower creators from all backgrounds, communities, languages, and genders, including many that may be under-represented, to find their voice, an audience and cultivate a sense of belonging," said Raghavan.

"We make sure that our creators understand how best to use the platform and how to grow, and for this, we already have a set of community guidelines. These guidelines actually focus on how to create content in a responsible manner," he added.

YouTube has on boarded about 25 of top creators to take a pledge to create content more responsibly. At the 'Creator Camp' virtual event this week, Rekha Sharma, Chairperson, National Commission of Women in India, also encouraged the YouTube creator community to create content responsibly and inclusively.

The creators' pledge is crucial at a time when YouTube consumption is increasing day by day, even inside the living rooms with the entire family around.

Overall, 85 per cent viewers used the platform more than ever since the outbreak of Covid-19 and 93 per cent of YouTube viewers prefer watching content in regional languages.

According to Raghavan, they have basically encouraged creators to take the pledge and keep focusing on the fact that they have to create content in a very responsible manner.

"That is the beauty of this ecosystem -- one creator inspiring the other in the creative economy -- especially those who may just be starting their journey on YouTube," he said.

"Our #CreateWithCare campaign will continue to bring together prolific creators to create useful resources and discuss how to be respectful of diversity as they create content that has the power to impact lives," Raghavan noted.