MAM
Publicis Drugstore to unite start-ups with real estate sector
MUMBAI: Publicis Drugstore has started its India operations with the first of its initiatives targeting the real estate sector. The drugstore is an innovation incubator, which incubates innovation ideas/projects on behalf of the Publicis Groupe clients around the world in collaboration with the startup sector.
These innovation incubation programmes range from supper chats with CXOs, to hackathons and long format innovation projects. Meet the makers is one such format which allows for an evening of intimate interaction between large companies and curated start ups in their respective sector. This experiential event was designed and created in partnership with Zone Startups, an organisation that incubates and accelerates start-ups in the Indian ecosystem.
Key speakers at the event included Anil K Nair who leads the Publicis Drugstore initiative in India and Zone Startups India director Ajay Ramasubramaniam.
Nair is of the opinion that the biggest business disruptor and saviour going into this decade will be an attitude of inside out innovation within large traditional organisations that will need to be encouraged & cultivated. A symbiotic relationship building between these organisations and the start up sector was also necessary. “It’s a win-win for both. And we at Publicis Groupe are determined to make these dialogues happen for the overall good of the market place and the consumer at large”.
He further added: “The start-up space has been responsible for some of the biggest market disruptions across the world. Be it Uber or Air Bnb, they have all gone to redefine the space they were conceived in. We could have gone the traditional way and approached the fin-tech or other sectors which have such interfaces all the time. We however, have focused on real estate as it is one industry that needs the kind of innovations that start ups bring with them.”
Ramasubramaniam added, “The start-up scene is well ahead in terms of infrastructure, support and finance. It is only recently that the Indian scenario has started catching up. There is still some time when crowdsourcing and crowd-funding will become the norm for our nation, until then we are focused on creating the right kind of environment with the assistance of the Publicis Groupe to incubate, accelerate and facilitate the transition of the start-ups to their relevant industrial sector.”
Some of the notable startup pitches that came up were Phynart, a home automation start-up that incorporates Artificial Intelligence and data mining in traditional automation systems and Enso Immersive, a R & D establishment driving research in technologies like Augmented Virtual Reality for developing applications and platforms across industries like real estate.
The real estate industry was represented by leading players like Omkar, Tata Housing, Kalpataru , Godrej properties & Puranik.
Brands
Jubilant FoodWorks faces Rs 47.5 crore GST demand, plans appeal
Tax authorities flag alleged misclassification of restaurant services
MUMBAI:Â Jubilant FoodWorks Limited has landed in a tax tussle after receiving a GST demand of Rs 47.5 crore from the office of the additional commissioner of CGST and central excise in Thane, Maharashtra.
The order, issued under the provisions of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, relates to an alleged incorrect classification of certain services under the category of restaurant services. According to the tax authorities, this classification resulted in a short payment of goods and services tax for the period between the financial years 2019-20 and 2021-22.
The demand includes Rs 47.5 crore in GST along with an equal amount as penalty, in addition to applicable interest. The order was received by the company on March 13, 2026.
In a regulatory filing to the BSE Limited and the National Stock Exchange of India Limited, the company said it disagrees with the order and believes its arguments were not adequately considered.
The company is preparing to challenge the decision and plans to file an appeal. It added that once the redressal process is complete, the demand is likely to be dropped.
Despite the sizeable figure attached to the notice, the company said it does not expect any material impact on its financials, operations or other activities.
The disclosure was signed by Suman Hegde, EVP and chief financial officer, who confirmed that the company received the order at 19:06 IST on March 13 and has already initiated steps to contest it.
The development places the quick service restaurant major in the middle of a tax debate that could hinge on how certain restaurant-linked services are classified under GST rules. For now, the company appears ready to take the matter from the tax office to the appeals desk.
