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Vodafone to recognise 50 ‘Women of Pure Wonder’
MUMBAI: Dr. Seema Rao, India’s first woman commando trainer, is a pioneer in close quarter battle and has trained various Indian Special forces for 18 years without compensation. Aditi Mittal, one of the first women to do stand-up comedy in India, will make you laugh hard with her incredible wit and intelligent humor. Abha Khetarpal Maurya is a disability rights activist and has penned numerous books and research papers on the subject.
Imagine 50 such inspiring and brave women coming together and making you go ‘wow’ with their life-altering stories. Women, truly of Pure Wonder!
Vodafone Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Vodafone India, will recognise the spirit and achievements of these women on 10th March, 2017 in New Delhi, where the ‘Women of Pure Wonder’ coffee table book featuring them will be launched.
Vodafone India director – regulatory – external affairs & CSR P. Balaji said, “The first three editions of the book have been well received and we are proud to carry forward the legacy this year as well. Our salutations to all the bold, brilliant and brave women across the country whose inspiring tales are represented by the 50 women featured in this edition of the book.”
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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.
