MAM
Ambani, Swamy, Sakhuja, Dabral, Joshi, Bhan win Colors’ IAA Leadership awards
MUMBAI: The International Advertising Association’s (IAA) India Chapter has announced the winners for the fifth edition of the coveted Leadership Awards in Mumbai.
Powered by Colors, the event was flagged off by Reliance Industries CMD Mukesh Ambani and deputy minister of the diplomacy, PM’s office, Government of Israel, Dr. Michael Oren.
(The book) “Gandhi – The Great Communicator” was unveiled on the occasion. The awards saw leaders representing advertising, marketing and media honoured by a group of pre-eminent guests.
The ceremony saw the industry veteran
RK Swamy BBDO CMD Srinivasan Swamy inducted into the Hall of Fame Awards. The IAA Media Agency Leader and Creative Agency Leader Award went to Madison Communications’ Vikram Sakhuja, and Ogilvy and Mather’s Sonal Dabral, respectively.
The coveted IAA Media Leader Award went to Rajan Anandan, Google while Ambani adjudged as the IAA Business Leader of the Year.
Excellence in Journalism was celebrated with Rahul Joshi, Network18 News, winning the IAA Editorial Leader award, and Shereen Bhan, CNBC-TV18 winning the IAA Leader – TV Anchor of the year. The Brand Endorsement Leader award went to Amitabh Bachchan and Alia Bhatt.
Ambani said, “I believe leadership is about setting new standards as demonstrated by our team at Jio.”
Narayan, newly elected President of IAA, said, “The esteemed jury and an exhaustive list of quantitative and qualitative parameters have helped recognise outstanding campaigns.”
Oren said: “I can think of no two countries in the world (other than India and Israel) that have had a greater impact on history and art.”
Viacom18 Media COO Raj Nayak said, “We feel privileged to partner with The International Advertising Association in recognizing and rewarding leaders in our country.”
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.
