MAM
Zenith adjudged best media agency of 2001 in Asia Pacific
Zenith Media has been adjudged the ‘Media Agency of The Year 2001’ in Asia Pacific by Media Magazine.
A slew of key accounts in one of the most demanding years, Zenith won the honour for the second time in four years, beating key competitors like The Media Edge, MindShare, OMD and Universal McCann, according to a company release. “Zenith put on nearly 17 per cent in new business…and invested in consumer insights such as its study of China’s rural children and working towards single source data for the mainland’s TV markets. On top of this it continues to invest in talent and creativity across its regional network…Zenith owes its winning streak to the talent and tools it has at its disposal. Ultimately, agencies are about people and Zenith has recruited, retained and even rehired key talent to spearhead growth,” the award citation reads.
In the last year, Zenith Media won a number of key accounts, including the prestigious Procter & Gamble buying account in China and planning accounts in IndoChina and Singapore. Other accounts won in China were Sony, Danone, Amway, 999, Huiren Pharmaceuticals and the drinks brand Robust. In Japan, Zenith Media won the AXA Direct and Renault accounts. Some other major wins for Zenith Media in the region have been Timberland, Puma and 3Com.
In the past quarter in India, Zenith Media has picked up LML Ltd., P A Time Industries (Maxima Quartz) and Ozone Ayurvedic Limited in Delhi. In Kolkatta, Zenith Media has gained Jindal Industries and Shalimar Paints. The Mumbai branch has won International Coffee as well as planning for Tata AIG.
In Asia, Zenith Media is in the top 3 in 8 out of the 10 countries that it operates in, and in India, Zenith Media handles more than Rs 30 billion worth of media buys.
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.
