MAM
Radaan forms new company in Malaysia
MUMBAI: Chennai-based Radaan Mediaworks (I) Ltd, promoted by film actress Radikaa and her family, has terminated the joint venture it had formed with the Agate group of Malaysia, called Agate Radaan Malaysia Sdn Bhd. A new company Radaan Mediaworks SDN BHD has been incorporated.
Responding to queries from indiantelevision.com, Radaan Mediaworks CEO BS Radha Krishnan outlined his company’s international plans for the coming year to as follows: “Apart from addressing Malaysia as one of our major international markets, we have plans to cater to Tamil speaking TV Audiences with a new format show, a Tamil weekly teledrama and also a crossover film involving both countries’ (India, Malaysia) traditions, culture and values.
Sri Lanka is another major interest area and Radaan has taken a substantial stake in the production arm of the Maharaja Organisation, which runs MTV, Shakti TV and Sriasa, Radha. This has been done with a view to cater to Sinhalese audiences, Krishnan said, adding that Radaan creative director and managing director MR Mohan Ratha’s roots are from the Emerald Isles.
The Radaan board of directors has scheduled a meeting today to formalise the break with Agate and incorporate the new company in Malaysia.
Radaan has been successful in marketing its software library in markets like Malaysia, Sri Lanka and the UK. Radaan’s most successful show has been the record shattering Tamil language soap “Chithi”, which is currently having its second run.
Brands
Reserve Bank of India cancels Paytm Payments Bank licence
Central bank cites compliance failures; curbs tighten as wind-up looms
MUMBAI: India’s banking watchdog delivered its sharpest blow yet to Paytm Payments Bank, cancelling its licence and effectively ending its ability to operate as a bank under the law.
The Reserve Bank of India said the entity can no longer conduct banking business under the Banking Regulation Act, citing concerns that its affairs were not being run in the interest of depositors or the public and that it had failed to meet licence conditions.
The move escalates a crackdown that has been building for months. The bank had already been barred from onboarding new customers since March 11, 2022, and later faced restrictions on deposits, credit and wallet top-ups. In January 2024, the central bank ordered it to stop accepting fresh deposits, pointing to persistent non-compliance, including lapses in customer due diligence, use of funds and technology systems.
Operationally, the bank is now on a tight leash. It may process withdrawals of existing deposits and facilitate loan referrals through banking correspondents, but it cannot take fresh deposits.
The central bank said it would apply to the high court to wind up the bank.
Paytm sought to ringfence the fallout. In a regulatory filing, it said the licence cancellation applies to Paytm Payments Bank Limited, a separate entity, and should not be attributed to One 97 Communications. It added that there is no exposure or material business arrangement with the bank and that it operates independently, without Paytm’s board or management involvement.
“As informed earlier, Paytm (One 97 Communications Limited) and its services, which have been operating without interruption, will continue to operate uninterrupted. These include the Paytm app, Paytm UPI, Paytm Gold and all other services offered by its subsidiaries and associated companies,” the company said.
The distinction may reassure users of the app ecosystem, but the regulator’s verdict is unequivocal. After years of warnings, caps and curbs, the payments bank experiment at Paytm is being shut down—decisively, and with little room left to manoeuvre.
