MAM
MPG loses Rajagopal, gets Kari on board
NEW DELHI: Media Planning Group‘s (MPG) outdoor arm, MPG Active has appointed Krishnamurthy Kari as its chief operating officer. Kari was earlier with Aircel as the head of Out-of-Home and activations.
He has nearly 15 years of experience in the field. At MPG Active Kari will be responsible for acquiring the network business for MPG Active and enhancing the existing roster of MPG network accounts and deliver an integrated solution to the clients‘ needs.
MPG Active has full service offices in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Punjab and Hyderabad, with a staff strength of more than 24 professionals. Some of its key clients are Capgemini, Hyundai, Skoda Motors, VLCC, Jabong.com, National Geographic, VIACOM 18, News 24, Cleartrip.com, fashinara.com, Quicker.com, BNP Paribas, Carlsberg, Smile Group, DBS, Fire Luxorand Puri Constructions.
At MPG, its VP – investments (West) Gautam Rajagopal has quit. MPG CEO Mohit Joshi confirmed both the people movements to indiantelevision.com.
Rajagopal had joined MPG in May 2011. Before this, he was with Beehive Communications as vice-president, media services for nearly four years.
Rajagopal has more than 17 years of experience. He has worked with Contract Advertising, Madison, Mediavision and Carat Media Services. In 2003, Rajagopal joined Starcom MediaVest Group as group head, broadcast investment. After two years, he moved to Mudra (Optimum Media Solutions), where he worked for the next two years, before joining Beehive Communications.
He has worked across various categories of brands such as HDFC Bank, Asian Paints, Parle, Bisleri, P&G, Heinz, Skoda, Bajaj and Cadbury.
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.
