MAM
Reuters in tie up with Airtel to offer commodity price service
MUMBAI: Reuters and mobile operator Airtel are working jointly on a pilot project to provide commodity prices through text messaging service.
Aimed at the farmer community, subscribers can receive quick updates on the commodity market.
The pilot project is slated to kick off in August for the Maharashtra region, Reuters South Asia managing director Samir Shah said on the sidelines of a press conference.
The messaging service will be provided in the Marathi language. The farmers will have access to real-time information on commodity prices. This will enable them to make informed choices about when and where to sell their produce.
“The aim is to link farmers and traders and also provide them reports on commodity prices from all major markets. By using the mobile messaging service, the farmers can obtain the market updates. They can also be informed about the international prices in their own language,” Shah said.
Reuters is targeting early next year to launch this service on a national scale by tieing up with various mobile operators.
Earlier addressing the press conference, Shah said Yes Bank has chosen to make prices on Reuters Trading for Foreign Exchange (RTFX).
The bank has also signed up for Reuters leading edge pricing engine technology, Reuters Electronic Trading for Automated Dealing (RETAD), to automate its FX transactions in a real time environment over the bank’s intranet.
Recently, Reuters had signed in Union Bank of India, the first public sector bank in India to become a market maker on Reuters Trading for Foreign Exchange (RTFX) and Reuters Trading for Bullion.
Brands
Faber-Castell India appoints Sunaina Haldar as director – marketing
With stints at Tata, SleepyCat and ADF Foods under her belt, Haldar is primed to redraw Faber-Castell’s brand story
MUMBAI: Faber-Castell India has poached Sunaina Haldar from ADF Foods, appointing her director – marketing as the German stationery brand looks to muscle up in a category that is rapidly reinventing itself around creativity and self-expression.
Haldar hit the ground running. “My first couple of weeks have been incredibly energising, understanding consumers, visiting markets, engaging with retailers and immersing myself into the world of Faber-Castell Group,” she said.
She arrives with considerable firepower. At ADF Foods, Haldar ran marketing across India and international markets for a portfolio spanning Ashoka, Aeroplane, Camel and ADF Soul. Before that, she was vice-president – marketing at direct-to-consumer mattress brand SleepyCat, where she helmed brand, content and performance marketing. Her résumé also includes a stint leading marketing, new product development and CRM for Tata SmartFoodz at Tata Consumer Products, no small proving ground.
Between corporate roles, Haldar also operated as a fractional CMO for early-stage startups, building marketing strategy and operational structures from scratch, a signal that she knows how to move fast with limited resources.
With 18 years straddling FMCG, D2C and the startup world, Haldar now takes the reins at a brand that has long owned the classroom but is clearly hungry for the living room. In a stationery market where the pencil has become a lifestyle statement, Faber-Castell has picked someone who knows exactly how to sell that story.
