MAM
Genesis begins handling Sony PR
NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: Finally. The Sony Entertainment Television Indian account, after weeks of speculation, has moved from Roger Periera Associates to Genesis PR later this month.
While the account officially moved to Genesis from 1 January, the advertising fraternity, which had been abuzz with the news since beginning December, had said that the account would move by third week of December. The contract initially is for a year. Roger Periera Associates, which has recently divorced from Burston Marstellor, had the Sony account for just over one year, prior to which, Sony handled its PR inhouse.
Among the contenders who were vying for the Sony PR account were Genesis, RP and IPAN Public Relations, a division of the WPP group.
Genesis PR will be looking after the corporate and programming PR of Sony and SET Max channels. AXN does not fall within the ambit of the agreement and CNBC India is anyway slated to move out of the Sony bouquet to Zee Turner. HBO which has moved from Zee Turner bouquet to the Sony stable has its own PR company in CMCG India.
With SET India on board, the media account tally of Genesis PR goes up to three as the Prema Sagar-started company already has BBC World and National Geographic Channel accounts.
The SET India account was with the erstwhile BMRP till recently. Genesis PR bagging the SET account also coincides with the recent announced split between Roger Periera and BM earlier this year. Genesis PR now has an affiliation with BM, though the latter does not hold any equity stake in Genesis PR unlike the relationship it had with Roger Pereira where BM held about 49 per cent stake in BMRP.
With the cricket World Cup, to be held in South Africa, almost round the corner, at least SET Max will be needing some aggressive public and media relations activities.
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.
