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Vedanta elevates two industry veterans to drive sustainable growth
MUMBAI: Vedanta is all set to drive the next phase of sustainable growth in the Iron & Steel sector with the strategic elevation of two industry veterans. Vedanta Iron and Ferro Alloys Business CEO Sauvick Mazumdar has been appointed as CEO of Vedanta’s Iron and Steel Sector, while Vedanta – value added business director NL Vhatte will take up the role of CEO- ESL Steel.
Mazumdar has been associated with the group for almost 25 years and has diversified experience in the iron & steel sector including mining, exploration, logistics, iron making and business development. He was appointed as the CEO of the Sesa Goa Iron Ore Business in 2019. Post the acquisition of FACOR, Mazumdar has been also leading the Iron & Ferro Alloys Business of Vedanta.
Vhatte, who has rich diversified experience of close to three decades in pig iron, metallurgical coke, steel making and waste heat recovery power plants will now Head ESL Steel, which was acquired by Vedanta to diversify into the steel industry in 2018.
Vedanta Group CEO Sunil Duggal said: “I congratulate Sauvick Mazumdar and NL Vhatte for this much-deserved elevation. With their rich and diversified experience, I am sure that we will take our iron & steel business to greater heights with strong emphasis on safety, environment and sustainable growth.”
A mining engineer from NIT- Surathkal, Sauvick Mazumdar has had a successful track record of driving the growth of Vedanta’s Iron ore business through best-in-class techniques, innovation, state-of-the art environment friendly technologies, implementation of robust Safety systems and automation.
An electrical engineer with MBA in finance, Vhatte has a successful track record of driving the growth of Vedanta’s value added business (VAB) from 0.3 to one million Tone as the largest merchant pig iron producer with lowest cost.
With the ongoing expansion of steel capacity at ESL Steel to 3.5 MT, Vhatte will play a critical role in creating a futuristic, world-class and motivated organisation with a focus on HSE and sustainability excellence, people development, governance, advocacy, technology and digitization to bring large-scale performance transformation for the group.
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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.
