MAM
Over 250 complaints of misleading ads about AYUSH products since Jan 2015
NEW DELHI: The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) referred 263 complaints of allegedly AYUSH products related advertisements to the Consumer Affairs Ministry since January 2015, including seven advertisements of herbal medicines in 2016.
The AYUSH Ministry itself received 79 complaints in the year 2014 about advertisements and misleading claims allegedly of herbal and AYUSH products.
Such complaints of 381 advertisements are also registered online till 16 March 2017 in the Grievances against Misleading Advertisements (GAMA) portal maintained by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution.
Giving this information in Parliament, AYUSH Minister Shripad Yesso Naik said that it was pertinent that the proof of safety and effectiveness as required for issuing license to manufacture Ayurvedic, Siddha or Unani medicine is prescribed in the guidelines under Rule 158-B of the Drugs & Cosmetics Rules 1945, which can either be based on textual rationale from the authoritative books listed in the First Schedule to the Drugs & Cosmetics Act or published literature; and if no such evidence of effectiveness of the drug is available, it needs to be generated by conducting the pilot study.
He said that in an effort to check the veracity of misleading advertisements of AYUSH products, the Central Government had issued directives to the State Governments for appointing gazetted officers for monitoring of advertisements of such drugs. Complaints of misleading advertisements of medicines are forwarded to the concerned State Licensing Authorities for action in accordance with the provisions of Drugs & Cosmetics Act, 1940 and Rules thereunder and Drugs & Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954 and Rules thereunder. States have reported action taken against the defaulters.
The AYUSH Ministry also signed a memorandum of understanding with ASCI on 20th January 2017 to undertake monitoring of the misleading AYUSH –related advertisements appearing in print and TV media and bring the instances of improper advertisements to the notice of the State Regulatory Authorities for taking necessary action.
Brands
Hemlata Sharma joins ONEOTT Broadband as chief business officer
Former Zee Media distribution head to steer growth, partnerships and strategy
MUMBAI:Â Hemlata Sharma has joined ONEOTT Broadband as chief business officer, bringing with her more than three decades of experience across television, telecom and media distribution.
Sharma most recently served as head distribution, research & CRM at Zee Media Corporation Limited, where she worked closely with editorial and senior management while overseeing distribution, consumer research and customer relationships for 14 news channels including Zee News, WION, Zee Hindustan and Zee Business, along with ten regional state channels.
In that role, she led nationwide distribution across platforms such as DTH, Hits, IPTV, cable networks and DD Free Dish. She also drove consumer research and strategic insights on a pan India scale, analysing content performance, anchor impact, programme slots and audience behaviour to guide editorial decisions and programming strategy.
Her portfolio also included managing one of the largest alliances with Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited and overseeing the global distribution monitoring of Wion across North America, Mena, Europe, Africa, APAC and Australia.
Earlier, Sharma briefly served as head sales and distribution at Triplecom Media Pvt Ltd, an engagement driven OTT platform bringing together content, gaming, music and advertising for the entertainment distribution ecosystem.
Her earlier career includes a senior vice president stint at Ten Sports Network, where she played a key role in relaunching the sports broadcaster as an independent bouquet comprising Ten Sports, Ten Cricket, Ten Action and Ten Golf following the Zee takeover. During this period, she moved from vp west to head strategy for cable and dth and later national head retail distribution, helping build the network’s retail distribution vertical across India and launching dedicated golf and football channels.
Before that, Sharma spent over six years at Bharti Airtel as general manager operations for Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. She initially led marketing and corporate communications before moving into sales leadership, where voice sales grew by 86 per cent and revenues by 96 per cent. She later headed business operations, expanding annual business volumes to Rs 100 crore while significantly reducing operational costs.
Sharma began her long association with the media distribution ecosystem at Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited as regional head sales and distribution for central India. During that period, she played a role in the early rollout of pay television channels including Zee Cinema, HBO, Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network, while also contributing to the launch of Siti Cable in key central Indian cities.
With her new role at ONEOTT Broadband, Sharma is expected to focus on strengthening business strategy, expanding partnerships and driving growth across the company’s broadband and digital distribution ecosystem.
