MAM
Airtel Payments Bank collaborates with Noise and NPCI
Mumbai: Airtel Payments Bank in collaboration with Noise, smartwatch and connected lifestyle brand, and the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), announced the launch of its upcoming cutting-edge NCMC (National Common Mobility Card)-enabled Smartwatch, integrated with the RuPay chip.
The Bank showcased the prototypes of this state-of-the-art smartwatch at the Global Fintech Fest 2024. This innovative smartwatch, conceptualized by Noise, brings the future of payments to the user’s wrist, blending advanced lifestyle features with the convenience of NCMC-enabled tap-and-pay transactions.
This launch marks the second phase of the successful partnership between Airtel Payments Bank and Noise, building on the initial efforts to redefine on-the-go payments directly from their smartwatches. Elevating the experience further, this NCMC-enabled smartwatch is set to augment the potential of smart wearables by integrating seamless transactions into daily lives and redefining the future of connected living.
The Airtel Payments Bank Smartwatch is engineered to revolutionize payments, offering unparalleled ease and accessibility. With NCMC integration, users will enjoy the convenience of tap-and-pay transactions at merchant locations as well as NCMC-enabled transit payments across metro systems, buses, parking facilities and more nationwide. Additionally, it supports the issuance of transport concessions and monthly passes, where applicable, by transport operators, making daily commutes hassle-free.
Crafted with an embedded RuPay chip in the dial, this smartwatch allows users to indulge in a more secure and flexible lifestyle experience. It offers effortless swapping of watchstraps, providing seamless customization to complement any occasion, personal style, or mood.
Airtel Payments Bank chief operating officer Ganesh Ananthanarayanan said, “We are delighted to introduce the NCMC-enabled Smartwatch, a product that embodies our commitment to innovation and customer-centric solutions. This smartwatch not only simplifies financial transactions but also enriches the daily lives of our users with its advanced features. We believe this launch will set a new standard in the wearable payment devices market as well.”
Noise co-founder Amit Khatri said, “At Noise, we are committed to transforming consumers’ lives meaningfully by relentlessly expanding the capabilities of smart wearables through future-forward innovation. As we enter this second phase of our partnership with Airtel Payments Bank, our collaboration with NPCI marks a significant step forward in this journey. By integrating NCMC into our smartwatch, we are not just unlocking new potential for wearables but also pioneering a new era of digital payments in India.”
The Airtel Payments Bank Smartwatch is designed for a lifestyle, offering a range of functionalities tailored to modern needs. It will soon be available for purchase through both the online and retail platforms of the Bank.
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Abhay Duggal joins JioStar as director of Hindi GEC ad sales
The streaming giant brings in a seasoned revenue hand as the battle for Hindi television advertising heats up
MUMBAI: Abhay Duggal has a new desk, and JioStar has a new weapon. The media and entertainment veteran has joined JioStar as director of entertainment ad sales for Hindi general entertainment channels, adding 17 years of hard-won revenue experience to one of India’s most powerful broadcasting operations.
Duggal is no stranger to big portfolios or bruising markets. Before joining JioStar, he spent a brief stint at Republic World as deputy general manager and north regional head for ad sales. Before that, he put in three years at Enterr10 Television, where he ran the north region for Dangal TV and Dangal 2, two of India’s leading free-to-air Hindi channels. The north alone accounted for more than 50 per cent of total channel revenue on his watch, a number that tends to get attention in any sales meeting.
His longest stint was at Zee Entertainment Enterprises, where he spent over six years rising to associate director of sales. There he commanded the Hindi movies cluster across seven channels, owned more than half of north India’s revenue across flagship properties including Zee TV and &TV, and closed marquee sponsorships across the Indian Premier League, Zee Rishtey Awards and Dance India Dance. He also handled monetisation for the English movies and entertainment cluster and the global news channel WION, a portfolio that would stretch most sales teams twice his size.
Earlier in his career Duggal closed what was then a Rs 3 crore single deal at Reliance Broadcast Network, one of the largest in Indian radio at the time, before that he helped launch and monetise JAINHITS, India’s first HITS-based cable and satellite platform.
His edge, by his own account, lies in marrying data and instinct: translating audience trends, inventory signals and client demands into long-term partnerships built on cost-per-rating-point discipline rather than short-term deal chasing. In a media landscape being reshaped by streaming, fragmented attention and AI-driven advertising, that kind of rigour is increasingly rare and increasingly valuable.
JioStar, which blends the scale of Reliance’s Jio platform with the content firepower of Star, is doubling down on its advertising business at precisely the moment the Hindi GEC market is getting more competitive. Bringing in someone who has spent nearly two decades doing exactly this, across some of India’s most watched channels, is a pointed statement of intent. Duggal has spent his career turning audiences into revenue. JioStar is clearly betting he can do it again, and bigger.
