MAM
PASG charts new course in public affairs across Asia
MUMBAI: Turning policy puzzles into a strategic playbook, The Public Affairs Strategies Group (PASG) has officially launched its boutique advisory from New Delhi, aiming to redefine public affairs across Asia and the Middle East. At a time when geopolitical unpredictability and shifting regulatory landscapes can make boardrooms uneasy, PASG positions itself as the partner that companies cannot afford to ignore.
With a senior-led team drawn from former policymakers, ex-bureaucrats, academic leaders, and global think tank experts, PASG offers high-touch counsel that blends global analytical rigour with local insight. Its advisory services span market entry strategy, risk intelligence, policy research, stakeholder engagement, government relations, ESG guidance, and crisis advisory, creating a holistic approach to shaping relevance, trust, and impact.
Co-founder Nitish Sharma emphasised the group’s mission: “Navigating policy today is about shaping long-term impact, not just compliance. PASG was founded to help organisations lead responsibly through change. India’s dynamic policy ecosystem is our backbone, but our vision extends across Asia and the Middle East, helping clients scale with integrity and foresight.”
PASG also leverages its relationships with multilaterals and think tanks, ensuring that client voices reach the highest levels of decision-making. As Earthood founder & CEO and PASG advisor Kaviraj Singh notes, “PASG brings refreshing clarity to a complex landscape. Its approach will strengthen corporate strategies while building bridges between business, government, and society.”
By combining strategic insight, deep institutional knowledge, and a relationship-first approach, PASG is set to help multinational corporations, foundations, and innovators navigate complex policy, regulatory, and stakeholder environments, delivering sustainable business impact.
In an era where policy volatility is a boardroom risk, PASG’s promise is simple yet compelling: Insights. Relationships. Impact.
Brands
Google says Gemini AI cuts irrelevant ads by 40 percent
AI driven search and ad tools boost relevance and results for brands.
MUMBAI: In the never ending hunt for the right ad at the right moment, artificial intelligence may finally be sharpening the aim. Google says the integration of its multimodal AI models, Gemini, has reduced irrelevant advertisements across its platforms by 40 percent, as improved query understanding allows ads to match user intent more closely.
Speaking at a roundtable on Thursday, Google vice president of Global Ads Dan Taylor said the company has been steadily deploying Gemini powered upgrades to interpret complex search queries more accurately. “We have been making Gemini based improvements to query understanding at a rate of almost one launch per month over the last two years. As the models improve and our ability to deploy them improves, ad quality continues to get better,” Taylor said.
The improvements come as Google leans deeper into AI driven advertising tools. According to the company, 2025 saw a threefold increase in Gemini generated creative assets produced by advertisers using its AI powered ad solutions.
The company also highlighted how these tools are influencing marketing performance for brands in India.
Insurance marketplace Policybazaar recorded a 28 percent rise in health insurance sales while reducing cost per sale by 23 percent after adopting AI Max, a tool that interprets natural language search queries to improve ad targeting.
Meanwhile, hospitality platform OYO reported 50 percent higher return on ad spend (ROAS) and a 25 percent reduction in cost per acquisition after combining its existing search campaigns with Google’s Performance Max (PMax) advertising campaigns.
Taylor noted that evolving consumer behaviour is also reshaping how brands approach digital advertising. According to Google’s data, 86 percent of shoppers in India using Google Search said they were open to trying new brands or products, suggesting that AI driven discovery tools could increasingly influence purchase decisions.
Beyond advertising, Google is also investing in what it calls agentic commerce, an emerging model where AI agents autonomously assist users in discovering, comparing and purchasing products online.
“Our goal with agentic commerce is twofold, first, to remove the grunt work of shopping so consumers can focus on the fun parts; and second, to work hand in hand with the industry to build the foundations needed to make agentic commerce seamless and secure across the web,” Taylor said.
The push into AI enhanced advertising and commerce comes as Google’s core ads business continues to grow. The company recently reported $82.28 billion in advertising revenue, marking a 13.5 percent year on year increase.
For advertisers navigating an increasingly crowded digital landscape, Google is betting that smarter algorithms and sharper intent signals will make ads feel less like interruptions and more like timely suggestions.
