MAM
LG Mobile to spend Rs 400 mn for ‘Mobile Army’ campaign for WC
MUMBAI: LG Mobile will spend Rs 400 million for the LG Mobile Army marketing campaign aimed at the cricket World Cup.
LG Mobile will conduct roadshows across 38 cities and select 2,500 people as the LG Mobile Army, who will then get to see the matches. 15 lakh units of cricket merchandise worth $14 million will be distributed. The company expects to reach 500,000 people.
LG India business head, mobile communications Vishal Chopra said, “The LG Mobile Army is an unprecedented initiative undertaken by the ICC and LG Electronics. The LG Mobile Army campaign intends to build on all the cricketing action and excitement during the World Cup. We are positive that this initiative will become an effective way to enter the spirit of local communities and bring alive the soul of sports”.
At each match 50 fans will cheer for cricket live at the stadiums. Led by the cricketer Dinesh Karthik, and LG brand ambassadors Genelia D’Souza, John Abraham and Abhay Deol, this ‘mobile army’ will be selected through auditions in which the cricket fan has to showcase his/her love for the game through a ‘cricket celebration dance’, slogans/chants and for the LG Smartphone buyers who have a special wild card entry.
TVCs have been done featuring D‘Souza and Abraham to spread awareness.
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.
