MAM
RIL announces Rs 500 crore contribution to PM CARES Fund
MUMBAI: Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) announced a donation of Rs 500 crore to PM CARES Fund in response to the call by the prime minister to support the nation’s fight against the Coronavirus onslaught.
RIL also informed that in addition to the financial contribution to the PM’s Fund, the company has also provided contributions of Rs 5 crore each to the governments of Maharashtra and Gujarat to support their fights against the Covid-19.
RIL also continues its 24×7, multi-pronged, on-the-ground effort to do its bit to ensure the nation remains prepared, fed, supplied, safe, connected and motivated to fight and win against the unprecedented challenges brought upon by the Coronavirus pandemic.
RIL has already deployed the strengths of the Reliance Family on this action plan against COVID-19. RIL and its motivated team have stepped up in the cities and villages, on roads and lanes, clinics and hospitals, grocery and retail stores, and it has pressed additional capabilities into the service of the nation.
RIL and Reliance Foundation is leading with a significant effort that encompasses several initiatives. These include:
· Contribution of Rs 500 crore to the PM-CARES Fund
· Contribution of Rs 5 crore to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund of Maharashtra
· Contribution of Rs 5 crore to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund of Gujarat
· India’s first 100 bed exclusive Covid-19 Hospital geared up in just two weeks to handle Covid-19 patients
· Fifty lakh free meals in the next 10 days across the nation and scaling up rapidly to more meals and newer areas
· One lakh masks daily for health-workers and caregivers
· Thousands of PPEs daily for health-workers and caregivers
· Free fuel across the country to notified emergency response vehicles
· Jio seamlessly connecting nearly 40 crore individuals and thousands and thousands of organisations daily on its telecom backbone via ‘work from home’, ‘study from home’ and ‘health from home’ initiatives, helping to keep the country going
· Reliance Retail providing Essential supplies daily for millions of Indians via stores and home deliveries
This is RIL’s overall commitment to the nation, in addition to appropriate financial assistance from time to time. The company and its employees will be in the nation’s service daily, as an efficient support machinery for the millions of forces in the frontline – India’s doctors, nurses, health workers and caregivers, government officials, police and peace keeping forces, the transport and essential supply providers and the crores of Indian citizens who are staying at home to contribute to this fight.
RIL particularly records its appreciation for its essential staff across the various divisions, our own heroes, who have effectively formed a second line of defence against the virus, supporting the frontline forces as well as the people fighting from their homes, and being part of the formidable buffer, which keeps the nation’s response effective and ongoing.
RIL remains committed to supporting India’s response to the Covid-19 challenge and will continue to build up its support till the challenge is overcome.
RIL chairman and managing director Mukesh Ambani said, “We are confident that India will conquer the coronavirus crisis sooner rather than later. The entire Reliance Industries Limited team is with the nation in this hour of crisis and will do everything to win this battle against Covid-19.”
Reliance Foundation founder chairperson Nita Ambani said, “As the nation comes together to fight the Covid-19 pandemic, all of us at Reliance Foundation stand in solidarity with our countrymen and women, especially those on the frontlines to whom we pledge our full support. Our doctors and staff have helped set up India’s first Covid-19 Hospital and are committed to supporting the government in exhaustive screening, testing, prevention, and treatment of Covid-19.”
“The need of the hour is also for us to support our marginalized and daily wage communities. Through our meal distribution programme, we aim to feed lakhs of people daily across the country,” Nita Ambani added.
MAM
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.
