MAM
February India wins creative duties of Avon Cycles
MUMBAI: February India, a Delhi based digital, design and advertising agency has won the creative duties of Ludhiana-based bicycle manufacturer Avon Cycles.
The incumbent agency on the account was a Delhi based Crayons Advertising.
February India business head and co-founder Gopal Krishnan said, “We did approach Avon cycles and got in touch with them a month back and we demonstrated what we can do for the brand and in terms of what they are today. So, hence we went with the brand and they really loved our idea of including the newer identity, and the newer campaign on which we are working.”
“We are going to change the identity of the brand and we are also changing the entire game plans for them,” added Krishnan.
Avon Cycles MD Onkar Singh Pahwa said , “We are going in with an expanded product line and our growing ambition in the fast changing world, we felt there was need for us to adopt stronger brand communication strategies and the present change is a step in that direction.”
February India was begun last year by Nirmal Pulickal and Gopal Krishnan. February also handles different accounts which include Blossom, Kochhar cosmetics, Ameriprise financial, Canara, HSBC, OBC, Sleepwell, Mother Dairy, The Spice Global, Spice Mobility and Saket City Hospital.
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.
