MAM
PHD Appoints Monaz Todywalla as CEO for India
Mumbai: PHD, part of Omnicom Media Group, has roped in Monaz Todywalla as its new chief executive officer for India. Prior to joining PHD India, Monaz held the role of VP of growth & strategy at Wavemaker India.
PHD APAC CEO James Hawkins said, “We could not have asked for a more experienced, skilled and innovative thinker to lead the India team. With Monaz’s strong emphasis on cross-functional, multi-disciplinary work, and her focus on creating an inclusive work environment, I am absolutely confident that Monaz will lead PHD India to greater heights.”
Monaz comes with close to two decades of extensive experience in the field of media, marketing and communications, with an in-depth understanding of planning, buying, strategy and execution across industries such as FMCG, Telecom, BFSI, Retail and Confectionary. Her diverse experience is best illustrated by the sheer range and number of clients she has worked closely with. From L’Oréal, Vodafone, Kotak, HDFC Life and Starbucks, to Tata Cliq, Asian Paints, MDLZ, Amul and Marico – her varied expertise has led to her being recognised as a top media and marketing professional in India.
Todywalla said, “I am excited about working with the talented and diverse team at PHD India, fostering creativity and inclusiveness in a space that is already abuzz with innovative thought. Coupled with a solution-oriented and richly-curious ethos at PHD, I am looking forward to leveraging my experience and helping our clients make the leap in a rapidly changing business landscape.
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.
