MAM
IndusInd Media gets a new CEO in Deepak Varma
MUMBAI: Hinduja TMT subsidiary IndusInd Media & Communications will have a new chief executive officer, even as the company has decided to de-merge its information technology and media businesses.
Deepak Varma, former chief operating officer of BPL Mobile Communications Mumbai, has joined IndusInd Media as the CEO. Since quitting BPL, Varma has been working with a telecom company abroad.
General CL Anand will continue as the managing director of IndusInd Media till he is relieved of his duties. “I have expressed my desire to retire from active service due to my growing age and indifferent health,” Anand tells indiantelevision.com.
Several senior executives of IndusInd Media have quit the organisation over the last two years. These include KV Seshasayee who was heading the conditional access system (CAS) project and was a board member, Rajiv Vyas who was the chief operating officer of IndusInd Media, and Ram Hingorani who was vice chairman of the company. Indus Media had made investments towards CAS, but this amount is stuck as there are still no takers for the addressable system.
Anand was responsible for improving the health of the MSO and played a big role in improving collections from the ground. The relationship with the distributors also improved during his tenure.
HTMT plans to have two debt-free listed companies with mirror shareholding. While information technology and telecom businesses will form part of the technology company, media including film content and cable TV distribution and broadband will be part of the new entity. In Fascel, which is a cellular service operator, HTMT has made a financial investment and is planning to sell its stake at the appropriate time.
Brands
Jubilant Foodworks to end Dunkin’ franchise in India
Pizza chain operator will not renew agreement when it expires at end of 2026.
MUMBAI: When the doughnuts stop turning and the coffee goes cold, even a global giant like Dunkin’ can find the Indian market a tough brew to crack. Jubilant Foodworks has decided not to renew its franchise agreement with Dunkin’ when the pact expires on 31 December 2026, according to a Reuters report. The operator, best known for running Domino’s outlets in India, said it would evaluate options for its existing Dunkin’ stores, including a potential sale or transfer of franchise rights, in consultation with the US-based brand.
The decision follows years of underperformance in a market where local tastes and intense competition have made it difficult for international coffee-and-doughnut formats to gain traction. Jubilant, which has increasingly focused on its core pizza business and newer bets like Popeyes, indicated that the exit would not materially affect its financial or operational position.
Dunkin’ accounted for just 0.61 per cent of Jubilant’s revenue in the fiscal year ending 2025 and recorded a loss of approximately Rs 191 million, according to a regulatory filing. The company operated 27 outlets as of December 2025, having shuttered seven stores over the preceding year.
The retreat comes even as Jubilant’s broader business shows signs of momentum. The company reported a 65 per cent rise in quarterly profit for the October to December period, reaching Rs 70.9 crore, up from Rs 42.91 crore a year earlier.
For Jubilant, the exit reflects a sharpening strategic focus. For Dunkin’, it marks another setback in a market that has proven resistant to imported café concepts without significant localisation.
In the cut-throat world of Indian quick-service restaurants, sometimes the sweetest deals are the ones you quietly walk away from leaving more room for the brands that truly rise to the occasion.
