MAM
ZEE5’s Avi Kumar appointed as CMO, Join Ventures
Mumbai: Direct-to-consumer (D2C) platform Join Ventures has announced the appointment of Avi Kumar as its new chief marketing officer (CMO). In this new role, Kumar will lead global marketing for Join Ventures and its portfolio companies – IGP.com, IGP for Business, and Interflora India.
Kumar is recognized among the top 30 CMOs by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and brings over a decade of experience in online business and marketing leadership roles. As the CMO, Kumar will be responsible for accelerating the market awareness and growth of Join Ventures’ D2C ecosystem.
Speaking on Kumar’s new role, Join Ventures founder Tarun Joshi said, “Avi is a natural addition to our leadership team as he is a highly experienced, much-admired marketing leader with a proven track record of helping consumer companies build new disruptive categories and drive sustainable growth. Avi’s entrepreneurial mindset and vision will build on this foundation and help propel Join Ventures forward during our next phase of growth.”
“The internet ecosystem and evolving consumer needs have led to the emergence of direct-to-consumer (D2C) businesses as a strong value proposition. Join Ventures with its amazing team, strong brand proposition, agile DNA, world-class tech and operational processes is at an inflexion point ready to take off and transform consumer experience and D2C landscape, and I am looking forward to being part of that growth trajectory,” said Kumar.
As the head of SVOD and brand marketing for OTT platform, ZEE5, he was responsible for the growth of the D2C and B2B business through a host of multimedia campaigns and industry-first innovations. Prior to that Kumar had led the marketing for India’s largest radio brand Big FM and was instrumental in the growth of Oriflame in India.
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.
