Brands
Bisleri named official hydration partner for Tata Mumbai Marathon 2026
MUMBAI: Bisleri is back on the road with Mumbai’s biggest run. The packaged drinking water major has renewed its role as official hydration partner for the 22nd edition of the Tata Mumbai Marathon 2026, strengthening its long-running association with India’s flagship distance-running event.
The partnership will see Bisleri roll out hydration support across the marathon route, with 20 hydration stations and four mist zones designed to keep runners cool and fuelled through the grind. The brand will also launch limited-edition bottles featuring Indian athletes Bhagirathi Bisht, Anish Thapa and Nirmaben Thakor, blending sport, inspiration and visibility on race day. Actor and fitness enthusiast Nikita Dutta is set to join the run, adding star power to the course.
Sustainability will run alongside stamina. Bisleri will set up three motivation zones focused on plastic reusability, install benches made from recycled plastic and deploy 90 plastic collection bins across the venue to support waste segregation and recycling.
“The Tata Mumbai Marathon captures the city’s relentless energy,” said Tushar Malhotra, director, sales and marketing at Bisleri International. “Hydration is central to endurance and performance. Our nine-year association with Procam Group and the marathon reflects our commitment to championing fitness, while celebrating elite Indian runners through limited-edition packs.”
Bisleri’s continued presence across sporting properties underscores its broader push to promote health, fitness and responsible consumption, particularly among young consumers.
As tens of thousands hit the streets, the message is clear: in a race powered by grit and sweat, hydration is not an accessory — it is the engine.
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.
