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Times Prime launches host of health and wellness benefits to keep India fit
MUMBAI: Staying healthy and fit is a major challenge during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis with nation-wide gym closures and most workplaces adopting a work-from-home routine. With millions struggling to maintain healthy habits as they lose access to their local nutritionist or fitness centre Times Prime has partnered with premium health and wellness brands like HealthifyMe and Lybrate to offer over Rs 3000 worth of additional benefits for free to help its new and existing users stay at the peak of their health from the comfort of their homes.
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The new and comprehensive suite of health and wellness offerings that come as a part of the membership would offer subscribers multiple benefits like access to AI-curated smart plans (diet plans) powered by HealthifyMe along with online tracking of over 55,000 foods on the HealthifyMe app and 24*7 access to premium online healthcare services on Lybrate’s app and website. These personalised diet plans, expert advice from top diet coaches and easy access to selected verified doctors anytime anywhere would help serve the ever-evolving health and wellness needs of the widest section of the Indian consumer-base.
Times Prime business head Vivek Jain said, "With the world going into lockdown to contain the spread of the Coronavirus, these past few weeks have been challenging for all Indians to say the least. Unfortunately, along with working from home, stress eating and binge-watching are increasingly becoming an ungovernable part of most of our lives. At Times Prime, we realised our community’s growing need for premium online health and wellness services and have partnered with some of the most innovative health and fitness brands like HealthifyMe and Lybrate to enable our users to stay healthy and fit as they remain quarantined in the safety of their homes.”
HealthifyMe VP growth and head of product Anjan Bhojaraj said, “Times Prime users have a lot to gain by using HealthifyMe. We are pulling out all the stops to ensure our users continue to stay healthy and fit in the the comfort of their homes during the lockdown. While our Smart Plans will ensure they eat right, new features on the app like immunity building tools and home workouts will help them stay active as well as safe at home.”
“The sweeping lockdown has posed a severe challenge to the health of Indians, taking an unimaginable toll on their physical and mental wellbeing. In the given scenario when social distancing is the new norm and governments are urging people to stay indoors, online doctor consultation supplemented with a prescription is a feasible and safe option to talk to doctors, except for in cases where they need a hands-on assessment. Lybrate and Times Prime are aligned in their bid to keep India fit at home. With the partnership, we are facilitating tele-consultation to the members of Times Prime. It would allow them to tele-consult doctors from across specialties, on our platform and let them be healthy while being home,“ said Lybrate founder and CEO Saurabh Arora.
At an introductory price of Rs 999 only, Times Prime’s premium lifestyle membership now offers exclusive access to ten premium memberships that include Zee5 subscription worth Rs 599, Gourmet Passport by Dineout worth Rs 1,499, BBStar membership worth Rs 599, Gaana+ by Gaana worth Rs 399, exclusive access to TOI+ the ad-free online version of the world’s largest circulating newspaper, ETPrime membership worth Rs.399, FitCoach membership by FitPass worth Rs 999, HealthifyMe Smart subscription worth Rs 999, FreshClub subscription worth Rs 399, and OYO Wizard Blue worth Rs 499. Additionally, Times Prime’s exclusive payment partnership with HDFC Times Card, users can purchase the Times Prime membership at up to 30 per cent discount. Customers can easily recover their membership fee within the first week and save up to Rs 60,000 every year, making Times Prime the most comprehensive and cost-effective premium subscription service available in India.
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Brands push beyond compliance as trust takes centre stage
ASCI AdTrust Summit 2026 spotlights shift from legal checks to credibility.
MUMBAI: In a world where a disclaimer can be legally sound yet socially suspect, brands are learning that compliance may tick boxes but trust wins markets. At the inaugural ASCI AdTrust Summit 2026, a panel on “Beyond Compliance: The New Currency of Trust” unpacked a growing industry reality: the gap between what the law permits and what consumers accept is widening and fast.
Moderated by Meenakshi Ramkumar of National Law School of India University, the discussion brought together leaders across law, marketing and academia to examine how brands must evolve in a digital ecosystem increasingly shaped by scrutiny, scepticism and speed.
Ramkumar set the tone by highlighting a critical shift, advertising today operates in the same digital space that fuels misinformation, scams and fake news, making credibility harder to establish. “The challenge is not just about what brands do, but the broader context of low institutional trust,” she noted, adding that when violations go unchecked, trust erodes not just in brands but in the regulatory system itself.
This vacuum, she said, has given rise to consumer activism from boycotts to social media backlash as a parallel accountability mechanism.
For Amit Bhasin, Chief Legal Officer at Marico, the distinction was clear, legal compliance is non negotiable, but insufficient. “Compliance is the minimum threshold. The real challenge is staying aligned with changing consumer expectations,” he said.
He pointed to how advertising narratives have evolved from traditional depictions of gender roles to more shared responsibilities reflecting a broader societal shift. “Earlier, it was fine to show one person doing the household work. Today, that may not land well. Consumers expect brands to reflect reality,” Bhasin observed.
He also highlighted internal debates where campaigns that may be legally permissible are still rejected for being culturally insensitive, noting that responsible advertising often requires asking uncomfortable questions before the public does.
If compliance is the baseline, reputation is the battlefield.
Bhasin noted that reputational risk has become a far greater concern than legal exposure, particularly in an era where campaigns can be dissected within hours online. “Earlier, a controversial ad might invite a newspaper editorial. Today, within hours, you’re at the centre of a storm,” he said.
Brands, he added, now evaluate campaigns through a dual lens legal viability and reputational vulnerability with the latter often proving more decisive.
From a healthcare perspective, Satish Sahoo of Cipla Health underscored the complexity of operating within fragmented yet stringent regulatory frameworks, spanning drugs, food, cosmetics and Ayush. “Anything under a drug licence is the most tightly regulated,” he said, adding that this necessitates proactive, not reactive, compliance.
He shared an example from the oral rehydration salts (ORS) category, where Cipla resisted the temptation to position products aggressively despite competitive pressure. “Our product is WHO compliant, and our communication reflects that. We chose not to blur the lines, even if others did,” he noted.
The long term payoff, he suggested, lies in credibility built over consistency, not quick wins.
Yet, as Harsha N of National Law School of India University pointed out, even perfect compliance does not guarantee trust. Drawing from historical and modern examples from exaggerated product claims in the 1800s to contemporary environmental and health advertising, he argued that legal frameworks often lag behind consumer expectations. “A brand can be fully compliant and still be perceived as misleading,” he said, citing instances where fine print disclosures fail to reach or convince the average consumer. He added that larger companies carry a disproportionate responsibility to set ethical benchmarks, even in areas where the law remains silent.
The conversation also turned to digital advertising, where the challenge extends beyond content to how ads are experienced. From algorithmic targeting to personalised messaging, brands now operate in an environment where regulation struggles to keep pace with technology.
Sahoo noted that social media has amplified awareness, with influencers and consumers increasingly scrutinising product claims and calling out inconsistencies. “Awareness has gone up dramatically. People are questioning what goes into products and what brands are saying,” he said.
The role of self regulatory bodies such as Advertising Standards Council of India also came under the spotlight.
Harsha acknowledged that while SROs play a crucial role, they are not immune to criticism, particularly around perceived conflicts of interest and enforcement gaps. “SROs have a higher threshold of responsibility not just to interpret the law, but to anticipate societal expectations,” he said.
He added that failures in self regulation often push the burden back onto government intervention, underscoring the need for stronger, more proactive oversight.
One of the more nuanced debates centred on whether building trust comes at a cost. While Sahoo acknowledged that quality and compliance can increase costs, he argued that companies must absorb them as part of their long term strategy.
Bhasin, however, framed the challenge differently not as cost, but as competitiveness in a market where not all players play by the same rules. “The real tension is when others cut corners and you choose not to,” he said.
The panel concluded with a call to embed trust into business metrics.
Sahoo suggested that organisations must go beyond revenue targets to include consumer equity and trust based KPIs, ensuring that ethical considerations are not sidelined in the pursuit of growth. “Trust sounds abstract, but it can translate into measurable consumer equity,” he said.
As the discussion wrapped up, one message stood out: the rules of advertising are being rewritten not just by regulators, but by consumers themselves. In an ecosystem where attention is fleeting and scepticism is high, brands that merely comply may survive, but those that build trust are the ones that endure.
