MAM
Times OOH chief gets billboard industry throne
MUMBAI:The billboards plastering India’s chaotic streets have found their new overlord. Narayanaswami Shekhar, chief executive of Times OOH, has been crowned chairman of the Indian Outdoor Advertising Association, handing the Times Group executive sway over an industry grappling with digital revolution and regulatory squeeze. Earlier the vice-chairman, he takes over from Jagran Engage COO Pawan Bansal.
Shekhar’s ascent to the top of IOAA puts him at the helm of a lobby group that corrals more than 80 per cent of India’s leading outdoor media barons and boasts 220-plus members scattered from Mumbai’s traffic-choked arteries to Bangalore’s tech corridors. The association’s bread and butter involves fending off municipal crackdowns whilst championing the interests of companies that transform India’s urban jungle into a kaleidoscope of consumer messaging.
The appointment comes as India’s outdoor advertising sector—worth billions of rupees—faces an existential reckoning. Digital screens are rapidly displacing static hoardings, whilst smartphone ubiquity threatens the traditional model of ambushing commuters with roadside pitches. Meanwhile, courts and municipal authorities have launched periodic crusades against “visual pollution,” threatening the very billboards that fund the industry.
Shekhar’s new perch positions him as the industry’s chief evangelist at a pivotal moment. His Times OOH stable operates across India’s major cities, where the company’s digital displays compete for eyeballs against everything from Hindi film posters to political propaganda. The challenge now is ensuring outdoor advertising remains relevant in an increasingly screen-saturated landscape.
For the Times group, Shekhar’s industry chairmanship represents a strategic coup. The media conglomerate can now influence regulations and standards that directly impact its outdoor advertising arm, whilst positioning itself as the sector’s thought leader.
The association’s core mission—protecting and promoting outdoor advertising interests—takes on fresh urgency as Indian cities grapple with beautification drives that often view billboards as urban blight rather than legitimate business infrastructure.
Brands
ConfirmTkt rolls out 1 per cent cashback for summer train trips
Unlimited wallet rewards valid till 31 May boost holiday travel
GURUGRAM: ConfirmTkt has announced a limited period 1 per cent cashback offer aimed at making summer train travel a little lighter on the wallet.
The authorised B2C online train ticketing platform, part of the Ixigo Group, will credit 1 per cent cashback directly into users’ ConfirmTkt Wallet for every train ticket booked through its app. The offer runs until 31 May 2026, neatly covering the peak summer holiday rush.
There is no cap on how much cashback users can earn during the offer window. The credited amount can be redeemed on the next train booking within 90 days, making it particularly useful for families planning return journeys, students heading home for the holidays, or travellers ticking off multiple destinations in one season.
Importantly, the process is automatic. Cashback is credited after booking, with no codes to enter and no hoops to jump through, keeping the reward simple and seamless.
Ixigo Trains and ConfirmTkt CEO Dinesh Kumar Kotha, said summer remains one of the busiest travel seasons in India, as families, students and professionals take to the rails to reconnect and explore. He noted that by keeping the cashback uncapped and redemption straightforward, the company aims to help travellers extract greater value from both outbound and return trips during this high demand period.
Beyond the seasonal offer, ConfirmTkt continues to position itself as a tech driven, customer first platform. Its features include high accuracy waitlist prediction, nearby trains and alternate travel plan suggestions when seats are scarce, live train status updates, seamless PNR tracking, instant refunds, seat availability alerts and UPI enabled payments. Users can also order food on train for delivery to their seats at selected stations.
Taken together, the platform’s tools are designed to reduce uncertainty and add a layer of reassurance to rail journeys. With this summer cashback in play, ConfirmTkt is not just helping travellers book tickets, but giving them a small return ticket on their spending too.
