MAM
Ad Club new committee appointed
MUMBAI: At the recently concluded annual general meeting, The Advertising Club unanimously elected Colors CEO Raj Nayak as its President for the second consecutive term.
The new managing committee is as follows:
• President| Raj Nayak, CEO, Colors, Viacom18 Media Pvt. Ltd.
• Vice President| Vikram Sakhuja, Group CEO, Media and OOH, Madison Communications Pvt. Ltd.
• Secretary | Ajay Kakar, Chief Marketing Officer, Financial Services, Aditya Birla Group
• Jt. Secretary | Bhaskar Das, Group CEO, Zee Media Corporation Ltd.
• Treasurer| Shashi Sinha, CEO, IPG Mediabrands
• Office Bearer | Ashish Sehgal, COO, Zee Unimedia Ltd.
• Member |Mitrajit Bhattacharya, President and Publisher, Chitralekha Group
• Member | Partha Sinha, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, McCann
Worldgroup
• Member | Pradeep Dwivedi, Chief Corporate Sales & Marketing Officer, Dainik Bhaskar Group | DB Corp Ltd.
• Member | Ramesh Narayan, Managing Director, Canco Advertising Pvt. Ltd.
• Member | Vikas Khanchandani, Chief Business Officer, Reliance Broadcast Network Limited
• Member | Viral Jani, Head TV Partnerships, Twitter India
• Co-opted Member | Partho Dasgupta, CEO, Broadcast Audience Research Council
• Co-opted Member | Punitha Arumugam, Director, Agency Business, India and South East Asia, Google India Pvt. Ltd.
• Co-opted Member | Ajay Chandwani, Director, Percept Limited
• Immediate Past President | Pratap Bose, Founder, Social Street
Expressing his pleasure at his re-election, Nayak said, “I am extremely honored & humbled at the love bestowed upon me by the industry. I hope to continue working even more vigorously to realize The Ad Club’s agenda of acting as a catalyst in developing our vibrant and dynamic industry.”
Publicis Worldwide CEO South Asia and AAAI president Nakul Chopra welcomed the announcement saying, “I am delighted that Raj has been elected President Ad Club for another term. A dear friend, a respected colleague – Raj has always worked for the good of the industry via various forums. I look forward to working closely with him to further the already strong relationship between The Ad Club and AAAI.”
Zee MD and CEO and IBF president Punit Goenka added, “I am most certain that with his rich experience, acumen and industry knowledge, Raj will continue to take ‘The Advertising Club’ to greater heights. The very fact that he is re-elected, speaks abundantly about his contribution made to the club and to the industry. Over the last year, the club has certainly been a catalyst in developing the industry and with its interactive platforms and properties, it has served as a brilliant platform for industry professionals to interact and exchange thoughts. I wish Raj all the success in this role.”
Showing his excitement about the announcement, K Swamy BBDO Chairman,MD and IAA president India chapter, IAA Global Senior Vice President Srinivasan Swamy said, “I was delighted to hear that Raj was reelected to lead The Advertising Club. His passion and energy levels are infective. He has brought in many senior names to join the committee and I eagerly look forward to next phase of accelerated growth for the Club under his stewardship.”
Industry stalwart Madison world chairman Sam Balsara also expressed his pleasure by saying, “I am delighted that Raj has agreed to continue as The Ad Club President. This augurs well for the members of the advertising, media and marketing community in general and members of The Ad Club in particular. Raj is everybody’s favorite person and is uniquely positioned to discharge this onerous responsibility which he has kindly agreed to, despite his hectic and I am sure taxing work schedule”.
Industry veteran GroupM South Asia CEO CVL Srinivas commented, “Its great news for the industry that Raj Nayak has been re-elected President of The Advertising Club. Raj brings a lot of style and substance to whatever he does. His boundless energy, passion and commitment is so amazing. I wish him the very best and look forward to another great year with him at the helm”.
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.
