Brands
Big Bazaar launches game to promote R-day sale
MUMBAI: Hypermarket chain from Future Group, Big Bazaar, has created a mobile game to promote its mega property, ‘Big Bazaar Sabse Saste 5 Din’. Designed and executed by L & K Saatchi & Saatchi, Big Bazaar’s innovative deal game is set to transform the shopping experience in India. Consumers and gamers can play the game and win shopping vouchers worth up to Rs 1 crore.
The ‘Deal Skyfall Sabse Saste 5 Din’ mobile game has the group’s iconic Chidya as a playable character. The game consists of five levels and will change from one to the other on preset scores. The speed at which the products appear on screen will keep on increasing along with the frequency of obstacles as the level increases. The game will have various deals. Each deal will have its own value/points. The user will be awarded a reward for crossing a predefined score and they can redeem the voucher code from the rewards section of the game on 23 January 2018.The game is available on the App Store, Playstore and bigbazaar
Future Group’s head of digital Pawan Sarda says, “With Deal Skyfall – Sabse Saste 5 Din game we want to reach out to the hidden consumer in everyone. Be it a gamer, a next gen consumer, mobile addicts or our huge base of loyal consumers, the game can be played by one and all. It is a simple and rewarding game, where your points in the virtual world get you a chance shop in the real world for free.”
L & K Saatchi & Saatchi Managing Partner Anil K Nair adds, “The game is a unique way in which a household brand like Big Bazaar is promoting one of its biggest properties. We have kept the game simple and it is sure to get many addicted and win as many vouchers they like.”
Revolutionising the shopping experience in India, Big Bazaar started the first ever Republic Day Sale in 2006, which has over the years come to be known as Sabse Saste Din. Celebrating the 12th successful year of Sabse Saste 5 Din, Big Bazaar has owned the period around Republic Day and has been a trendsetter.
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.
