MAM
#MediaMinds2 | Havas Group India Group CEO Rana Barua talks about digitisation and programmatic advertising
MUMBAI: A prominent face in the media industry, Rana Barua is a veteran with more than two decades of experience in the marketing industry. Having worked across agencies like Ogilvy, JWT and Creativeland, he is about to complete two years as Havas India CEO and has been doing some great work for the agency.
Barua believes in defining tasks that are short-term while keeping long-term plans in mind. He is also obsessed with time-oriented goals.
In the fourth episode of Media Minds 2, Barua talks about how the industry, including Havas, has been very aggressive about mergers and acquisitions in the past two-three years.
Elaborating more on the same Barau said, “Acquisitions may come down but will still be on. It will give you a certain edge. I see mergers happening more than acquisitions. When I say mergers, which is why I am splitting mergers and acquisitions, I see mergers because I can see certain companies merging into each other.”
Speaking about his future plans Barua shares, “We are being cautious about every form for the next few months in terms of every form of cost. What we are doing is very measured, we are ensuring that there is no ad-hocism, there is no upheaval or any kind of unplanned thoughts going on. So, if we are in the month of July, we are very clear how August and September have to be for us. There is is a lot of conversation that keeps happening between the senior management and the people who are running the show in the group.”
Watch the complete episode here:
Brands
Trump announces $300bn Texas oil refinery with Reliance, calls it the biggest in US history
First new US refinery in 50 years planned at Brownsville port with Reliance
WASHINGTON: The United States may soon see the first brand-new oil refinery built on its soil in half a century.
Donald Trump announced a proposed $300 billion refinery project in Texas, calling it a landmark moment for American energy production and jobs.
Posting on Truth Social on 10 March, Trump said the facility would be built at the Port of Brownsville and developed by a company called America First Refining, with major investment from India’s Reliance Industries.
The announcement frames the project as a centrepiece of the administration’s push for “energy dominance”, with Trump claiming it would deliver thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in economic activity to South Texas.
If realised, the plant would mark the first all-new major refinery constructed in the United States since the 1970s. In recent decades, oil companies have largely chosen to expand existing facilities rather than build new ones, citing high costs, regulatory hurdles and environmental scrutiny.
Trump described the proposed investment as the “biggest in US history”, positioning it as proof that policy changes such as streamlined permits and lower taxes are drawing large-scale energy investments back into the country.
The refinery is planned for the Port of Brownsville, a strategic Gulf Coast location that provides easy access to shipping routes and export markets.
A key partner in the project is Reliance Industries, controlled by billionaire industrialist Mukesh Ambani. The company already runs the world’s largest refining complex in Jamnagar, India, making it one of the most experienced operators in large-scale petroleum processing.
The Texas venture would mark a significant step for the group into America’s domestic refining sector, potentially strengthening industrial ties between the US and India.
The proposed refinery is being promoted as a next-generation facility capable of processing American shale oil while maintaining high environmental standards. Trump said it would be “the cleanest refinery in the world”, although the specific technologies behind that claim have not yet been detailed.
Industry observers also note that the $300 billion figure is unusually large for a refinery project, and analysts are waiting for more clarity on whether the number reflects total construction costs, long-term infrastructure investment, or broader economic impact estimates.
As of 11 March, Reliance Industries had not publicly confirmed the investment size or the structure of its involvement.
For now, the announcement has sparked equal parts excitement and curiosity in energy markets. If the plan moves from promise to pouring concrete, the refinery could reshape the Gulf Coast energy landscape, and reopen a chapter in American refining that has been quiet for nearly fifty years.
