MAM
ASCI accepts ‘paid partnership’ tag on Instagram
Mumbai: The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has declared that the paid partnership tag that influencers carry in their advertorial posts on Instagram meets the principles of the ASCI guidelines for influencer advertising on digital media. The self-regulatory body therefore will consider the Instagram ‘Paid Partnership’ tag as an acceptable alternative to its disclosure labels.
The ad industry watchdog had released the guidelines for influencer advertising in India last year in June after extensive feedback from all stakeholders – advertisers, agencies, influencers, and consumers. The guidelines, which are applicable to commercial messages or advertisements published on or after 14 June 2021 were then framed, making it mandatory for influencers to label the promotional content they post and ensure that it is identified as paid promotion.
This decision will reduce the burden on brands and influencers and will encourage greater compliance from all parties, said ASCI.
Post releasing the guidelines, ASCI screened around 5,000 posts until December 2021. Over the period of six months, it processed 729 complaints which were considered to be prima facie violations of the guidelines. From the total complaints, ASCI achieved total compliance of 86 per cent, where influencers modified the posts that were complained against.
The guidelines and all information related to the influencer guidelines can be accessed at ASCI’s social platforms.
Brands
UltraTech Cement appoints Jayant Dua as managing director
Dua will succeed K. C. Jhanwar after his term ends in December 2026
MUMBAI: UltraTech Cement, the flagship cement arm of the Aditya Birla Group, has elevated Jayant Dua as managing director, effective 1 April, 2026.
The company’s board also approved his appointment as additional director, managing director and key managerial personnel, effective 1 January, 2027, following the completion of the current managing director K C Jhanwar’s term on 31 December, 2026, according to a regulatory filing.
Dua will serve as managing director for a four-year term from 1 January, 2027 to 31 December, 2030.
A veteran executive with more than 37 years of professional experience, Dua joined the Aditya Birla Group’s cement business in 1996 and spent nearly a decade in various functional and leadership roles.
Over the past two decades, he has held several profit-and-loss and chief executive responsibilities across multiple group businesses, including insulators, insurance, Century Cement and the chlor-alkali segment. In 2023, he was elevated to lead the group’s renewables and textiles businesses.
Within the group, Dua has received several internal honours, including the chairman’s individual award for exceptional contribution in 2002, the outstanding leader award in 2009 and the leader of leaders recognition in 2022.
He holds an engineering degree from Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, an MBA from International Management Institute and has completed the advanced management programme at Harvard Business School.
