MAM
Havas Worldwide names Jigisha Chawla as EVP for Gurgaon office
Mumbai: Havas Worldwide, the creative arm of Havas Group India has appointed Jigisha Chawla as executive vice president for its Gurgaon office. She will report to Havas Worldwide (Creative) managing director Manas Lahiri and will work across key clients of the office.
Havas Worldwide (Creative) Gurgaon is one of the biggest operations of the agency in India, with over 100 employees, according to the conglomerate. Apart from its biggest client Reckitt, the unit also manages some of India’s leading brands including Dabur, William Grant, Suzuki, Fortis Healthcare, and several others.
Over the last three years, the Gurgaon office has bagged several new clients including Stashfin, Renewbuy, Vivo, Jimmy’s Cocktails, Info Edge, and several others, said the statement.
“With the exponential growth of the Gurgaon unit, we are focussed on beefing up our senior leadership and our product,” Manas Lahiri said. “Jigisha will play a pivotal role in enhancing and strengthening our client relationships and widening our product portfolio.”
A seasoned advertising and communications professional with over 20 years of experience, Jigisha’s expertise is ingrained in traditional advertising with knowledge of its tenets in brand building with a good understanding of new-age media and the importance of technology to create brand stories.
“Over the last couple of years, Havas Group India and all its units have completely turned around and have built a new perception in India. The agency is going through fantastic momentum, and I am looking forward to making a meaningful impact in this growth story,” said Jigisha on her appointment.
Jigisha has spent a major part of her career with Ogilvy and has managed several marqueebrands and led key client businesses across diverse categories, including MNCs, Government, Non-profit organisations, and Healthcare businesses of Ogilvy Delhi. She has led many integrated teams and brings substantial global project management experience on board.
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.
