MAM
Concept PR celebrates Friendship Day with innovative team-building activities
Mumbai – Friendship Day, observed on the first Sunday of August, is a cherished occasion to honor the bonds of friendship and celebrate valuable relationships. At Concept Public Relations India Ltd, a leading full-service PR agency, this year’s celebrations reached new heights with a creative twist.
Concept PR marked Friendship Day by creating India’s longest corporate friendship band. This impressive display spanned all three floors of our office, showcasing 300 heartfelt notes exchanged among team members, symbolizing our enduring friendships and strong internal bonds.
The celebration featured engaging activities as employees paired up with their BCFs (Best Concept Friends) for a series of fun-filled events. A highlight of the day was capturing lively “laughfies” (laughter + selfies), which captured the joyful spirit and camaraderie of the occasion.
A spokesperson from Concept PR’s HR department shared, “At Concept PR, enduring friendships are the cornerstone of our vibrant work environment. Our colleagues become integral members of our PR-led integrated marketing family, contributing to a supportive and dynamic workplace where creativity and bonds thrive. This Friendship Day activity is a step forward in our ongoing commitment to employee engagement, aimed at strengthening connections and enhancing our collaborative spirit through innovative and meaningful experiences.”
These HR-led initiatives not only foster unity but also reinforce the strong connections that make Concept PR a cohesive and dynamic workplace. We celebrate Friendship Day and the exceptional connections within our team, year after year.
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.
