MAM
Amrita Thapar named as CMO for Microsoft India
MUMBAI: Microsoft Corporation (India) has named Amrita Thapar as the new chief marketing officer (CMO). Thapar’s LinkedIn profile confirms her taking over the new role for the tech giant in January.
Thapar also headed India Communications at Amazon Web Services (AWS) before moving on to her new role.
Erstwhile India’s chief marketing officer, Hitu Chawla has joined into a new role at Microsoft, sources told Indiantelevision.com, while declining to disclose any further details.
Chawla has served 16 years at the American multinational technology corporation. Having started as a marketing & communications manager in 2006 and rose through the ranks to become a senior director (Partner Go-To-Market strategy) of the organisation in the US in 2017, before taking on the mantle of CMO at Microsoft India in May 2020.
A marketing and communications professional with nearly 25 years of experience, Thapar has worked at companies spanning broadcast television, media strategy, and professional services both big tech giants in India and globally. She also has worked in television programming, corporate strategy and sales before pivoting to marketing and communications.
Previously, Thapar served as vice president of marketing and communications at Genpact in a stint lasting over thirteen years. She has also worked in corporate strategy at The Times of India Group and served as a television producer at NDTV. She has reported and produced shows including ‘Night Out’, ‘Jeena isi ka naam hai’, ‘Moneywise’ and ‘IT: India Tomorrow’ at NDTV. She was also a member of the core response team for COVID-19 at Genpact in 2020 and AWS in 2021.
Armed with a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Lady Shri Ram College at Delhi, Thapar lists her areas of expertise as brand storytelling, content and digital operations, mergers & acquisitions (M&A), reputation management, virtual collaboration, thought leadership, to name a few, to deliver business growth objectives.
Brands
Jubilant FoodWorks faces Rs 47.5 crore GST demand, plans appeal
Tax authorities flag alleged misclassification of restaurant services
MUMBAI:Â Jubilant FoodWorks Limited has landed in a tax tussle after receiving a GST demand of Rs 47.5 crore from the office of the additional commissioner of CGST and central excise in Thane, Maharashtra.
The order, issued under the provisions of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, relates to an alleged incorrect classification of certain services under the category of restaurant services. According to the tax authorities, this classification resulted in a short payment of goods and services tax for the period between the financial years 2019-20 and 2021-22.
The demand includes Rs 47.5 crore in GST along with an equal amount as penalty, in addition to applicable interest. The order was received by the company on March 13, 2026.
In a regulatory filing to the BSE Limited and the National Stock Exchange of India Limited, the company said it disagrees with the order and believes its arguments were not adequately considered.
The company is preparing to challenge the decision and plans to file an appeal. It added that once the redressal process is complete, the demand is likely to be dropped.
Despite the sizeable figure attached to the notice, the company said it does not expect any material impact on its financials, operations or other activities.
The disclosure was signed by Suman Hegde, EVP and chief financial officer, who confirmed that the company received the order at 19:06 IST on March 13 and has already initiated steps to contest it.
The development places the quick service restaurant major in the middle of a tax debate that could hinge on how certain restaurant-linked services are classified under GST rules. For now, the company appears ready to take the matter from the tax office to the appeals desk.
