MAM
RS Sodhi conferred ‘Business Leader of the Year’ at the 8th IAA Leadership Awards
Mumbai: The India chapter of the International Advertising Association’s (IAA) has announced the winners for the eighth edition of the Leadership Awards here on Friday evening.
Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd (Amul) managing director Dr RS Sodhi bagged the top honours for Business Leader of the Year. Sony Pictures Network India CEO NP Singh was conferred with the Media Person of the Year award. Veteran film actor Anil Kapoor walked home with the Brand Endorser for the Year award, while Wion’s executive editor Palki Sharma Upadhyay was awarded TV Anchor of the Year.
“I have learned a lot from people right from my retailer to the people sitting here because we interact with the best in the advertising and marketing industry,” said Dr Sodhi, in his acceptance speech. “I would like to tell you one thing that in today’s time the advertising and marketing field has garnered a lot of importance. There are so many retailers coming into the market. The pressure is growing. In order to prove yourself, you have to be creative, and when you bring that creativity in the local language, you will be closer to earth and you will be relevant in the industry.”
The IAA Leadership Awards, which honour individuals in the fields of marketing, advertising and media every year, were presented by the Maharashtra governor and chief guest at the function Bhagat Singh Koshyari, and IAA India chapter president Megha Tata, among others.
Zee was the presenting partner, Good News Today (GNT) powered by partner & Viacom18 the associate partner for the event.
“While we were planning the awards for 2021 we wanted to highlight leaders that have established new age businesses. For one thing this year has taught us is to be agile,” said IAA president Megha Tata.
“We have seen time and again that change or unexpected situations often lead to some brands or organizations and people succeeding while some may collapse. The difference between the two begins right at the top with the leader. And while I can describe our leaders tonight in many ways, I would just like to say that these unprecedented times call for unprecedented leadership and our leaders today definitely delivered on that,” she added.
IAA India inducted Raj Nayak into the IAA Hall of Fame for investing a lifetime in the MarCom industry and for his sterling role in directing the India chapter of IAA towards its ongoing role in being the voice of sustainability.
Other prominent recipients at the awards were Bobby Pawar (Creative Agency Leader of the Year), Nandini Dias (Media Agency Leader of the Year), and Raj Kamal Jha (Editor of the Year).
“True leadership is often about perspective, inner perspective. And for men and women with vision it is not always about different things, but sometimes it’s about the same things differently,” said IAA Leadership Awards co-chair Nandini Dias, articulating her thoughts on the definition of leadership. “That’s when one understands what leadership is actually made of. Leadership is not a talent, art form or science. It is simply about taking the first step in spaces where there are no written rules. So you make your rules because you make your own limits.”
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.
