News Broadcasting
Visa expands business operations in India
Mumbai, 16 January 2006 – Visa International, India’s leading payment brand and the largest payment system worldwide today announced that it has expanded its business operations in India by establishing a third office in New Delhi. Visa has expanded its operations in India to meet growing volumes and card numbers and to increase the spread of innovative Visa initiatives introduced in India over the past year. Visa’s India operations are headquartered in Bangalore with an office in Mumbai.
Commenting on the inauguration of the new Visa office in New Delhi, Santanu Mukherjee, Country Manager – South Asia, Visa International Asia Pacific said, “Visa clearly occupies the leadership position in India and over the recent past has set the pace for new product and service development in the Asia Pacific region. In keeping with the buoyancy of the Indian economy, Visa has been playing an active part in the payment industry’s consistent growth rate across all key parameters. The establishment of an office in New Delhi is a key strategic component to further enhance our business in the country. The New Delhi office will manage Visa member bank relationships in north India and provide our member banks and partners with a range of services and technology to enable them to provide superior payment options to their customers.
“Over the last year, Visa has introduced some groundbreaking offerings in India. These include Visa Bill Pay, Visa Money Transfer, Visa Mobile Top Up and Visa Zero Liability among others – many of these are now being subsequently launched in other Asia Pacific markets. These initiatives are in line with Visa’s commitment to developing and introducing products that are not restricted to a particular payment segment or channel but can be used in multiple environments and for multiple payment types and services. Today, Visa is no longer considered to be just a credit card company, but today offers a variety of payment products, including credit, debit, prepaid, and products in the Internet and mobile space,” Mukherjee added.
About Visa
Visa connects cardholders, merchants and financial institutions through the world’s largest electronic payments network. Visa products allow buyers and sellers to conduct commerce with ease and confidence in both the physical and virtual worlds. As an association owned by 21,000 member financial institutions, Visa is committed to the sustained growth of electronic payment systems to support the needs of all stakeholders and to drive economic growth. For more information, visit www.corporate.visa.com.
Visa Asia Pacific
In Asia Pacific, Visa has a greater market share than all other payment card brands combined with 62 percent of all card purchases at the point of sale being made using Visa cards. There are currently 265.9 million Visa-branded cards in the region. For the 12 months ended September 2005, US$509 billion was spent at point of sale or withdrawn from ATMs in Asia Pacific using Visa cards. Visa Asia Pacific’s Internet address is www.visa-asia.com.
For further information, please contact:
Ophira Samuel – Bhatia/ Melanie D’sa
R&PM:Edelman (Mumbai)
Tel # 022 2281 0168-72
Fax # 022 2284 6523
Email: ophira.samuel@rnpmc.com/ melanie.dsa@rnpmc.com
Dinelle Gonsalves
R&PM:Edelman
Manek Mahal, Veer Nariman Road,
Churchgate,
Mumbai – 400 020, India
Tel: +91 22 2281 0168~72
Fax: +91 22 2281 0149~50
News Broadcasting
CNN-News18 to host Kolkata Town Hall on Hooghly River
‘Bhalobasa Bengal Inspiring Bharat’ event on April 20 brings cultural icons, trailblazing women and leaders aboard a cruise to celebrate Bengal’s enduring influence.
MUMBAI: Bengal is about to make fresh waves on the Hooghly and this time the current is pure conversation. CNN-News18 is taking its iconic Town Hall format to the waters of the iconic Hooghly River on 20 April 2026 with a special edition titled ‘Bhalobasa Bengal – Inspiring Bharat’. The floating event will celebrate the state’s rich cultural legacy and how its ideas, creativity and spirit continue to shape the rest of the country.
The unique riverside setting draws on Bengal’s history as a cradle of reform, art and intellectual thought. The speaker line-up mirrors that diversity: cultural heavyweights Mithun Chakraborty and Sreenanda Shankar will share the stage with trailblazing “Devis” such as Tanya Sanyal (India’s first woman firefighter in aviation), Ipsita Chakraborty (Kolkata’s first woman bartender) and Reshma Nilofer Visalakshi (Nari Shakti awardee and marine pilot). Music will flow through the celebrated pianist-vocalist duo Sourendro and Soumyojit, while public life and governance will be represented by Smriti Irani, Leander Paes, Saira Shah Halim, Keya Ghosh, Rekha Patra, Roopa Ganguly and Babul Supriyo.
CNN-News18, editorial affairs director, Rahul Shivshankar, said the event honours voices that carry Bengal’s legacy forward. Smriti Mehra, CEO – English & Business News, Network18, added that Bengal’s stories resonate far beyond its borders, especially as the state heads into polls.
From the first woman to battle flames in the skies to legendary actors who shaped Indian cinema, the gathering promises a rich mix of inspiration, courage and candid dialogue. In a city where culture has always flowed as freely as the river itself, CNN-News18 is turning the Hooghly into a floating forum for ideas that matter.
Tune in on 20 April on CNN-News18, CTV and YouTube to catch Bengal’s heartbeat in full flow.
