MAM
IPRS announces emergency relief package for its members
MUMBAI: The creative community has been hit hard by the COVID-19 crisis. Creators whose earnings arise from individual projects have been left reeling from this unprecedented crisis which has now been compounded by an equally unprecedented lockdown aimed at keeping all Indian citizens indoors and safe. The lockdown has a significant human cost in terms of lost earnings and the consequent inability of many creative community members to sustain themselves and their families during the next three weeks.
The Indian Performing Right Society Ltd (IPRS) is mindful of the stark concerns faced by its author and music composer members and as a responsible copyright society mandated by the government of India is determined to do its bit to help its members across the country.
Accordingly, IPRS has declared an Emergency Relief Package to support its members, who are facing significant financial pressure during the Corona pandemic. The money will be paid to around 3150 author and music composer members across various geographies, to meet their basic needs for the next three weeks as we battle the virus.
IPRS chairman Javed Akhtar said, “It is our duty to support the call made by our prime minister Narendra Modi for society to support each other through this 21-day lockdown period. IPRS is what it is because of all its members. In these challenging and trying times, IPRS as a custodian of its creator members stands shoulder to shoulder with all its members. This payment by IPRS is our contribution for the time being to help our creator members tide over this period of the 21-day lockdown to be able to purchase basic necessities”.
IPRS CEO Rakesh Nigam said, “It is in times like these that bodies like IPRS can provide much-needed help and succour to its members. I am glad that we can contribute in this fashion to our members. I want to convey our Chairman Javed Saab’s message to all our members, that IPRS is there for them in this time of crisis.”
IPRS will be reaching out to its members to facilitate disbursement of the relief amounts on an immediate basis.
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.
