iWorld
WhatsApp to limit forwarding to five chats in India
MUMBAI: WhatsApp, the world’s most popular messaging app, is now firmly embedded into our social fabric. The simplicity and utility of the app has enabled it to breach several divides. The emergence of WhastApp as a dominant communication tool has also brought into focus the menace of fake news, false videos and rumour mongering.
False propaganda on WhastApp has been the source of several unfortunate incidents, including mob lynching, in India of late. The recent developments have compelled the Indian government to push the Facebook-owned messaging app into adopting more stringent measures.
Taking note of all concerns, WhatsApp is now testing a new policy for its chat forwarding feature.
‘Today, we’re launching a test to limit forwarding that will apply to everyone using WhatsApp. In India – where people forward more messages, photos, and videos than any other country in the world – we’ll also test a lower limit of 5 chats at once and we’ll remove the quick forward button next to media messages,” WhatsApp said in its blog on Friday.
The company has over one billion users globally, of which over 200 million are in India. The option of forwarding multiple chats at once was added a few years ago.
On Thursday, Indian government sent out a second letter to WhatsApp asking the company to come up with more effective solutions to tackle the existing problem.
On 3 July, the IT Ministry had sent a letter to WhatsApp to address the issue of provocative messages.
In response to the first notice, WhatsApp emphasised on collaborative effort from government, civil society and technology companies to check fake news, misinformation and hoaxes.
While outlining planned measures in its reply, WhatsApp said it has the ability but since it cannot see the content of private messages, blocking can be done only based on user reports.
“We are deeply committed to your safety and privacy which is why WhatsApp is end-to-end encrypted, and we’ll continue to improve our app with features like this one,” the new blog reads.
iWorld
Tips Music CEO Hari Nair to step down
Girish Taurani and Sushant Dalmia to jointly steer the company as the hunt for a new chief begins
MUMBAI: A leadership shuffle is under way at Tips Music. Hari Nair, the company’s chief executive, will step down on April 30 as the music label begins the search for a successor.
The company said Girish Taurani, executive director, and Sushant Dalmia, chief financial officer, will jointly oversee operations during the transition while the board identifies a permanent replacement.
Nair joined Tips Music in 2023 and set about reshaping the veteran music label into a more digital, data-led enterprise. During his tenure, the company secured licensing and partnership deals with global platforms including Sony Music Publishing and TikTok, while renewing agreements with Warner Music Group.
Drawing on earlier experience in technology and entertainment, including a stint at ByteDance, Nair pushed the organisation towards a performance-driven culture. He built a brand partnerships division and introduced proprietary software systems aimed at strengthening digital distribution and data capabilities.
Kumar Taurani, chairman and managing director, credited Nair with embedding a data-led culture within the company and driving revenue growth in line with shareholder commitments.
In his resignation note, Nair said that after helping transition the label into a modern, digitally focused and process-driven organisation, the time had come to pursue his next leadership challenge.
The leadership change comes as the broader Tips Films group shows signs of financial stabilisation. In the third quarter of FY26 the company reported a net loss of Rs 2.86 crore, narrowing sharply from Rs 14.2 crore in the previous quarter. For the nine months ended December, losses stood at Rs 12.37 crore.
Yet revenue told a more volatile story. Income from operations slid to Rs 4 crore in Q3 FY26 from Rs 56 crore in the preceding quarter, taking total operating income to Rs 4.56 crore.
For a company built on a catalogue of more than 34,000 tracks and decades of Bollywood hits, the next chief will inherit both a digital engine and a volatile music market. The playlist may be familiar, but the next act at Tips Music is only just beginning.
