MAM
Venkat is new Asci chairman
MUMBAI: Eenadu director I Venkat has been elected chairman of the Board of the Advertising Standards Council of India (Asci).
Leo Burnett chairman of India sub-continent Arvind Sharma was elected vice-chairman; and GroupM Media India CEO-South Asia Vikram Sakhuja was re-appointed as the honorary treasurer.
Venkat replaces Aditya Birla Management Corporation director-group corporate services Rajiv Dube.
As a member of the board of governors for five years, Venkat has provided active support to self-regulation in the advertising movement.
Dube said, “It has been a privilege for me to have served as the chairman of Asci and I step down from the position with the satisfaction of a progressive year on self regulation in advertising behind me, for which I would like to thank all who supported strengthening the movement further.”
Venkat said, “It is my honour to be elected as the chairman of an organisation which has been providing remarkable service to the Indian masses and ad industry by effectively self regulating advertising content over past 26 years. With the support of the Asci‘s Board and the Consumer Complaint Council (CCC) I will endeavor to further improve the awareness and usage of Asci. I urge the ad sector, the regulators, civil society activists and above all, the general public to actively seek Asci‘s services and also provide suggestions for its improvement.”
The advertiser members of the new board of governors are Agro Tech Foods‘ Narendra Ambwani, Aditya Birla Management Corporation‘ Rajiv Dube, Procter & Gamble Hygiene & Health Care‘s Shantanu Khosla and Hindustan Unilever‘s Gopal Vittal.
The media members on the board are Google India‘s Rajan Anandan and HT Media‘s Benoy Roychowdhury.
BBH India‘s Subhash Kamath, RK Swamy BBDO‘s Srinivasan Swamy, Perfect Relations‘ Dilip Cherian, IBS‘s Dhananjay Keskar, Brandscapes Consultancy‘s Pranesh Misra and Partha Rakshit Associates‘ Partha Rakshit are other members on the new board of governors.
During the year 2010-11, the Consumer Complaints Council (CCC) met 12 times and considered 777 complaints against 190 advertisements. Of these, complaints against 104 ads were upheld, while 80 were not upheld and six were considered non-issues. In 84 cases, the complaint upheld ads have been voluntarily withdrawn or modified as per the CCC‘s decisions resulting in over 80 per cent compliance rate.
Brands
Wipro hires 7,500 freshers, withholds FY27 hiring outlook
Profit rises to Rs 3,522 crore, Rs 15,000 crore buyback announced.
MUMBAI- Hiring may be on, but visibility is off, Wipro is adding talent even as it pauses the crystal ball. The company hired 7,500 freshers in FY26 but stopped short of offering any hiring outlook for FY27, underscoring the uncertainty gripping the IT services sector as it pivots towards an AI-led operating model.
The disclosure came alongside its fourth-quarter earnings, where management flagged volatile demand conditions and refrained from committing to future workforce expansion. Chief human resources officer Saurabh Govil noted that over 3,000 of the total hires were onboarded in the March quarter alone, signalling continued intake despite a lack of clarity on deployment pipelines.
This divergence active hiring without forward guidance reflects a broader industry pattern where talent acquisition continues even as deal conversions remain uneven and client spending cycles stretch. Wipro expects its IT services revenue for the June quarter to range between a decline of 2 per cent and flat growth sequentially in constant currency terms, reinforcing near-term caution.
Chief executive officer Srini Pallia pointed to artificial intelligence as both a disruptor and an opportunity. He said evolving client priorities are pushing the company towards outcome-driven engagements, with Wipro increasingly focusing on a services-as-software model through its AI Native Business and Platforms unit. The shift marks a structural change from traditional headcount-led growth to AI-enabled delivery frameworks.
The company has already committed over $1 billion to its AI ecosystem, with investors closely watching how these investments translate into revenue. For now, the numbers present a mixed picture. Net profit rose sequentially to Rs 3,522 crore, while revenue grew 3 per cent to Rs 24,236 crore. However, core IT services performance remained under pressure, with full-year revenue declining 0.3 per cent in dollar terms and 1.6 per cent in constant currency.
Large deal bookings offered a counterpoint, rising 45.4 per cent year-on-year to $7.8 billion, highlighting a widening gap between deal wins and actual revenue realisation. On a quarterly basis, IT services revenue slipped 1.2 per cent sequentially, signalling continued softness in execution.
Margins, however, told a more optimistic story. Operating margins expanded to 17.3 per cent in the fourth quarter, up from 14.8 per cent in the previous quarter, reflecting improved cost discipline. That said, the company cautioned that upcoming wage hikes and the ramp-up of large deals could exert pressure going forward.
Attrition stood at 13.8 per cent in the March quarter, indicating stabilisation after periods of elevated churn. Alongside its earnings, Wipro also announced a Rs 15,000 crore share buyback, reinforcing its focus on shareholder returns, with a payout ratio of 88 per cent over the past three years.
Taken together, the numbers capture a company in transition investing in AI, maintaining hiring momentum, but navigating a demand environment where growth is uneven and visibility remains limited.
