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<ul><li> As we come to the end of 2021, most of us are entering 2022 with a lot of hope and positivity. </li><li>Despite the challenges, 2021 turned out to be a good year in terms of the campaigns our creative agencies churned out. We saw many heartwarming, thought-provoking, quirky campaigns that won our hearts through the year.</li><li>In today's edition of our year-ender series, we talk to the best storytellers from the Indian advertising world and they tell us their expectations from 2022.</li></ul>2020 was one of the most difficult years we have faced in recent times which brought with it massive challenges. With people stuck at their homes, many of the traditional mediums witnessed a huge drop in spending. 2021, therefore has been a year of slow recovery. While the first half of the year was, in some ways, even more challenging, owing to the havoc the second wave of Covid-19 wreaked, things have been steadying slowly. The second half of the year has seen consumer sentiments slowly moving towards positive and it has been a good festive season. GroupM in its recently published report gave some positive news, that the industry is recovering much faster than earlier anticipated. And there have been signs of the green shoots too with different mediums recording good growth. BARC recently revealed that the November ad volumes for Television stood at 156 million seconds, 3% higher than 2020 and 31% higher than 2019. Meanwhile, Digital has been witnessing steady growth. Magna’s recently released report noted that digital ad formats grew by +20% (APAC average: +23%) to Rs 21,400 crore, while traditional media rose +12% to Rs 44,300 crore. The report also predicted a good recovery for traditional mediums like Print that were impacted due to the pandemic. For mediums like OOH and Experiential, the recovery is slower but again, the hope is 2022 will bring some cheer. With consumer sentiments turning positive and brands’ increasing willingness to spend more on advertising, things seem to be on the mend for now. However, even in a year when AdEx had been impacted, our creative agencies came up with some beautiful campaigns to make the year just a little better for us. From CRED’s Indiranagar ka Gunda to Mondelez’s reimagining of its iconic cricket stadium ad for Cadbury Dairy Milk, we have seen some heartwarming ads that made the year just a little more bearable. Meanwhile, a lot of brands also moved towards purpose-driven marketing. We also saw agencies come up with wonderful ideas to solve consumer problems. So, there was a shift from hard-selling to storytellers also becoming problem-solvers and this is a trend we hope stays. It will all be about going that extra mile, doing some good for the society. We will continue to see a lot of these trends in 2022 as well, but there is more in store. While the industry is moving towards the next year with cautious optimism, we spoke to a few experts from the advertising industry to understand what we can expect from 2022, and here is what they had to say: <keyword id="269997" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="amer-jaleel" source="Orion">Amer Jaleel</keyword>, Group CCO &amp; Chairman, MullenLowe Lintas Group The Rise of Regionalism in Advertising At one level, people are becoming more like each other. But look closer and you’ll see more alike, yes but also differently alike. Regionalism undoubtedly will be one of the dominant themes in the coming years, and this does not mean the archaic translations or redubbing of Hindi work that we used to churn out as a matter of course. As people receive more culturally relevant content to where they hail from or reside, we will see them shift towards themes and propositions that appeal to them. We see a confidence among people to claim their cultural territory and ask for entertainment that is more skewed towards them. And because you are viewing, not reading anymore, you can enjoy or be entertained or educated or moved in the nuances and the fine differences of the community you belong to, rather than be part of a generic mass. What that’ll mean to the creative process and production process you can only imagine in a country such as ours. Per piece, per project budgets will keep getting squeezed but overall outlays will go through the roof and marketing costs are bound to explode. It’s interesting times for a creative partner to both strategise in depth and create a plethora of gloriously unique work for the same brand over differentiated audiences. The more the frenzier, ha ha.” <keyword id="3844858" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="kainaz-karmakar" source="Orion">Kainaz Karmakar</keyword> &amp; Harshad Rajadhyaksha, CCOs, <keyword id="138018" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ogilvy" source="Orion">Ogilvy</keyword> India Seniors will learn from juniors The pace with which new media and technology are integrating themselves into advertising, we can either up-skill or pack up our egos and leave. This is the truth. The faster we internalise it, the clearer we will be about our future. If this clarity leads us to acquiring new skills, then the best teachers are the youngest people in our offices. They were almost born with a smart phone in their hands. We had to learn to live with devices and apps. They can’t imagine living without them. Technology is blood to them. Add to that the immortal enthusiasm of their youth. An hour in their company is like reading an entire issue of The Wire. We should invest in these kids. Not just money but also our time. Learning something new from them is much more fun than whatever administrative meeting we are missing to do this. The fabric of advertising as we know it is changing. It’s terrific to be a part of this change, even if it means going back to being a student. Most of us had the best time of our lives when we were students. Only this time, our teachers are younger and cooler than us. <keyword id="1106781" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="rahul-mathew" source="Orion">Rahul Mathew</keyword>, Chief Creative Officer, <keyword id="910338" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="DDB-Mudra-Group" source="Orion">DDB Mudra Group</keyword> Valuing, Supporting and Protecting Talent This actually isn’t a new trend, it’s going back to what this business was built on – talented people. I can’t remember who said ‘Advertising is the only business where our biggest asset leaves out of our front door every day’. But it’s the most important truth of our business. One we’ve been guilty of forgetting, often. And with work-from-home, while our talent may not be walking in and out everyday, they are getting woo-ed everyday - by in-house agencies, other creative pursuits, start-ups with more money or just by the promise of a better work-life balance. So, if we do not double down on our efforts to make our talent feel valued, supported and protected; we will not have the talent to call ourselves a creative industry. <keyword id="3616322" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="arun-raman" source="Orion">Arun Raman</keyword>, Chief Intelligence Officer, GREY Group India 2022: Happy Brave Year The last 2 years were all about ‘Safety First’. Any action perceived as risky, was quickly branded as irresponsible by all and sundry. And we were all forced to put our heads down and keep our distance from the unknown. Covid, particularly the Delta variant, made marketing prudent too. At a time when there were tectonic shifts happening in consumer behavior, in cultural markers and even in business models, prudence was the operative word. Protection of market shares and protection of bottom-lines were the extension of protection at home. After all, aren’t marketers human first, consumers next and sellers lastly! I predict 2022 to break these self-imposed protectionist mindset by my marketing counterparts. Most have adeptly adapted to the new business models and the new way of consumer behavior. We are already seeing green shoots of big ideas re-surfacing. Big Bold Heroic Brand Ideas. That always are by-products of brave adventurous marketers. I think 2022 will be the Return of Bravery in our industry and the beginning of the end of the pandemic infused risk-aversion. <keyword id="2932117" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="amit-wadhwa" source="Orion">Amit Wadhwa</keyword>, CEO India, dentsu Creative Amalgamation of Creative with Data, Technology and Digital 2021 has been a year that has had possibly the most ups and downs. Right from starting the year on a bullish note to seeing the biggest challenge with the second wave both from a business and people wellness front to finally coming out of it and closing the year on a high. The one thing that 2021 taught us was that it’s good to be ambitious but ‘cautiously ambitious’ rather than ‘bullishly ambitious’. So I guess we enter 2022 with this wisdom but there is so much more that we would need to focus on. One thing that I feel extremely passionate about is that we are in the business of creativity and our core is and will always be ‘creative’. And while I say this, we are living in an extremely dynamic world where right from methods of mining insights, ideas reaching consumers to consumers experiencing brands are all changing. 2022 will be a landmark year where creative agencies will see an even bigger transformation of the amalgamation of creative with data, technology and digital as the boundaries will vanish much faster this year. And agencies that are not ready for this change or are reluctant will face the heat while the ones who are better prepared and want to embrace the changing world will prosper. With our investments in data, tech and digital, I am all excited to embrace 2022. <keyword id="1505615" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ashish-Khazanchi" source="Orion">Ashish Khazanchi</keyword>, Managing Partner, Enormous 2022: The year of getting back to normal The pandemic was a true test of character of people, teams and organisations. While there certainly was a big drop in businesses and toplines, what was at stake was organisations' humanity. People in organisations everywhere dealt with the kind of uncertainty they never were faced before. Uncertainty of livelihoods, careers and sanity amidst surmounting work pressures. The better organisations, in my opinion, made sure that their people were taken care of at least as much as their businesses. When the specter of lockdowns was a little bit behind us, we saw a simple trend both in terms of people and companies. The ones with initiative thrived even in the midst of a terrible external situation. Anyone who did not take easy ways out, like the typical bottomline managers do, by cutting costs rather than working on newer avenues of organisational growth, are going to be the true hero companies of tomorrow. They've tasted success and now when the tides are turning, they're going to be unputdownable. 2022 will see business return to near normal, I would predict the number of pitches to go through the roof from about March. The ones with the best people and processes and creative products, will win 2022 by a mile. <keyword id="1970421" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="emmanuel-upputuru" source="Orion">Emmanuel Upputuru</keyword>, Chief Creative Officer, Cheil Entering a year of new adventures While the novel Covid-19 virus visited our planet last year, we bore the brunt of it this year. But as we come to the end of 2021, we can only look forward to the coming year, with lessons, hope and confidence. I believe the biggest positive is that so many possibilities have opened up suddenly for talent, companies and brands. We have entered an era where we have to deal with not just uncertainty, but with the unknown. There is a sense that anything and everything is possible today. Some can face it with fear, others with hope and a belief. But as the virus, the human race is also adapting, mutating if I may say so. So many exciting things are happening around us. Metaverse, Blockchain, NFTs, DAOs. Big brands have already entered these spaces. It looks so exciting, like an adventure. I am reminded of the song that my daughter loves and (hates it when I sing), “Don't you know there's part of me That longs to go Into the unknown? Into the unknown Into the unknown

Trends 2022: Where advertising is headed in the year to come

<ul><li>Ajay will report into <keyword id="2932117" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Amit-Wadhwa" source="Orion">Amit Wadhwa</keyword>, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), <keyword id="12016868" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Dentsu-Creative" source="Orion">dentsu Creative</keyword> India.</li><li><keyword id="1688376" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ajay-Gahlaut" source="Orion">Ajay Gahlaut</keyword> resigned from Publicis Worldwide in July, 2020.</li></ul><keyword id="188613" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="dentsu-india" source="Orion">Dentsu India</keyword> has announced the appointment of creative veteran Ajay Gahlaut as Group Chief Creative Officer (GCCO), spearheading creative excellence across dentsu India’s award-winning creative agencies. Ajay will report into Amit Wadhwa, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), dentsu Creative India and will be responsible for accelerating dentsu India’s creative businesses under one optimised service line. Dentsu India initiated the formation of a new structure for its Creative service line in June this year. The redesign - part of the network’s global plan to transform into the most integrated group in the world by 2024, brings together its agencies under one umbrella and catapults dentsu India into its fresh journey to 2.0. The agency brands that come together under this new creative design are <keyword id="2805202" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Dentsu-Webchutney" source="Orion">Dentsu Webchutney</keyword>, Taproot Dentsu, WATConsult, Perfect Relations, Isobar, Dentsu One, Dentsu India and Dentsu Impact. A creative genius with over 27 years of experience in advertising, Ajay wrote the line ‘Do Boond Zindagi Ki’ that anchored the famous Pulse Polio Immunisation campaign with the superstar Amitabh Bachchan. He also created more than a dozen commercials for the campaign and played a significant part in eradicating polio from India. He was also behind the line ‘Make It Large’ for the whiskey brand Royal Stag that transformed its fortunes and made it the highest selling whiskey in its price range. He created the character ‘Mr. Murthy’ for Voltas Air Conditioners and catapulted Voltas to the number one position in the category. Ajay has also created work for the whiskey brand Imperial Blue with the famous ‘men will be men’ sign off. He has won multiple Cannes Lions, One Show and D&amp;AD awards in his more than a quarter century journey in this business. But what deserves a special mention here is the way he led Ogilvy Delhi to win 8 Lions at Cannes in 2013. Not only did he surprise the country but surprised himself as well. Some of the most significant brands that Ajay has worked on are Pernod Ricard, BMW, HT Mint and KFC at some of the world’s best known Creative shops. Commenting on Ajay’s appointment, Amit Wadhwa said, “Dentsu India is in the midst of an exciting transformation journey towards dentsu India 2.0 and Ajay’s joining is a critical part of the plan. Ajay is a well-respected Creative leader with years of experience across categories and the right mindset that matches with dentsu India 2.0. With the brilliant Creative minds in our business, we will be a force to be reckoned with, delivering growth for our clients while continuing our creative evolution at pace and scale.” Ajay Gahlaut said, “Dentsu’s creativity defines generations. When the opportunity came to join Amit and his team, I could not refuse. Creativity is in the spotlight, with brands looking to differentiate themselves in a disrupted marketplace – it has never been a more exciting time to work in this field rich with opportunity. I am excited to join dentsu, Amit and the Creative teams, delighting clients and creating era defining work together.”

Dentsu Creative appoints Ajay Gahlaut as Group Chief Creative Officer

<ul><li>Narayan Devanathan is now President - Strategy &amp; Integration for dentsu India &amp; Head - Strategy &amp; Consulting, APAC.</li><li>Shamsuddin Jasani &amp; Sidharth Rao also get additional roles.</li></ul>On the back of its global organisational redesign, dentsu international has created a new structure for its creative service line in India. The restructure will bring together some of India’s best agencies along with their digital &amp; PR capabilities - all from the house of dentsu - under one umbrella with an aim to provide a more collaborative and aligned offering to clients. The brands that will come together as part of this redesign as dentsu Creative include Dentsu Webchutney, Taproot Dentsu, WATConsult, Perfect Relations, Isobar, Dentsu One, Dentsu India and Dentsu Impact. With the eventual consolidation under the two strong global brands - dentsumcgarrybowen (dentsuMB) and Isobar, dentsu Creative will provide digital-native, brand-led, customer-centric, creative, and strategic solutions to clients, effortlessly. In India, the dentsu Creative service line will be led by Amit Wadhwa as its chief executive officer (CEO). Amit will be responsible for the integration, co-ordination, and implementation of the overall strategy for dentsu Creative in the market. He will lead the dentsu India creative service line leadership team, reporting into Anand Bhadkamkar and the regional dentsu Creative leadership. Sidharth Rao, in addition to his current responsibilities, will now also be in charge of the brand dentsuMB Group in India as its CEO. He will work with the leadership team on dentsuMB’s brand strategy for the market. Shamsuddin Jasani, who continues to oversee the Isobar brand in South Asia as its Managing Director (MD), will also take on an additional role at dentsu Creative. He will now work with the regional and global leadership teams to support the Isobar practice area and will work closely with the Isobar Global leadership team on the same. Speaking on the new development, Anand Bhadkamkar, CEO India said, “This global restructure is about consolidation of capabilities across our brands and businesses with an aim to bring the best of our services to our clients and provide those specialisms without any hassles. The idea is to ultimately stand true to our #OneDentsu strategy and thus, transform into a sharper and leaner business partner to brands. The changes in the India leadership team only reflects a step ahead in bolstering and scaling up our market ambitions. Amit, Sid and Shams are amongst the strongest creative leaders not just within dentsu but across industry; and with the kind of experience and knowledge backing them, I am certain that they will steer dentsu towards excellence not just in India but beyond.” The network has elevated Narayan Devanathan as President - Strategy &amp; Integration for India, in addition to his current role as CEO, dentsu Solutions. This new role is designed to support and achieve dentsu’s strategic objectives by defining, implementing, and driving growth and other vital initiatives for the market. He will continue to report into Anand Bhadkamkar for his additional responsibility as part of the India market leadership team. Meanwhile, Narayan will now also don a regional hat as APAC Head for the dentsu Creative Strategy &amp; Consulting practice. “Narayan has been instrumental in driving integration across our units and, as part of the South Asia integration initiatives, he will be supporting the Sri Lanka team in strategy and integration across the two markets. He will now be moving away from his current additional role as Chairperson, Creative Service Line for India and will take up a regional leadership role as APAC Lead - Strategy &amp; Consulting Practice in the creative service line. In this role, he will be working with the Regional and Global leadership teams within the creative service line to help develop the area of Strategy &amp; Consulting Practice in the APAC region,” Anand added.

Dentsu India consolidates eight agencies under dentsu Creative, brings digital and PR capabilities together; Amit Wadhwa to lead the new structure as CEO

Kolkata, The 2024 <keyword id="19895394" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="lok-sabha" source="keywords">Lok Sabha</keyword> elections are on track to break past records and become the most expensive electoral event in the world, according to a poll expert. The estimated expenditure is expected to reach a staggering Rs 1.35 lakh crore, more than double the Rs 60,000 crore spent in 2019, claimed N Bhaskara Rao, who chairs the Centre for Media Studies (CMS), a not-for-profit organisation, and has been tracking election spending for 35 years. Rao stated that this comprehensive expenditure encompasses all spending, direct or indirect, related to polls, including that by political parties and organisations, candidates, the government, and the Election Commission. With the BJP vying for a third consecutive term under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, industry observers have noted the party's dominant presence in campaigns, irrespective of the mediums used for publicity. In an interview with PTI, Rao said he revised the initial expenditure estimate from Rs 1.2 lakh crore to Rs 1.35 lakh crore, factoring in electoral bond disclosures and accounting for all election-related expenses. "Initially, we estimated the expenditure at Rs 1.2 lakh crore. However, post the electoral bond stake disclosures, we've revised the figure to Rs 1.35 lakh crore," he said, adding that this estimate covered spending that took place 3-4 months before voting dates were announced. Rao emphasised that money flowed into the process through various means beyond electoral bonds. Recent observations by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) revealed a "significant lack of transparency" in <keyword id="20596430" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="political-funding" source="keywords">political funding</keyword> in India. From 2004-05 to 2022-23, approximately 60 per cent of contributions to the nation's six major political parties, totalling Rs 19,083 crore, came from undisclosed sources, including funds from electoral bonds, it claimed. The ADR has, however, refrained from providing any cumulative expenditure projections for the ensuing Lok Sabha elections. "Pre-election activities are integral to <keyword id="21426857" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="campaign-spending" source="keywords">campaign spending</keyword> by parties and candidates, covering political rallies, transportation, hiring of workers including field and influencers and even the controversial horse-trading of political leaders," Rao said. The Election Commission's budget to manage the polls is expected to be 10-15 per cent of the total expenditure projection, he added. With a voter base of 96.6 crore, per-voter spending is estimated at around Rs 1,400. This surpasses the expenditure of the 2020 US elections, which stood at USD 14.4 billion or Rs 1.2 lakh crore, according to OpenSecrets.org, a nonprofit organisation based in Washington, DC, that tracks and publishes data on campaign finance and lobbying. Media campaigns across various platforms are predicted to account for 30 per cent of the total election spend, Rao said. "While visible spending is concentrated in the 45-day direct campaign period, the actual expenditure far exceeds this amount," he added. Parties and candidates often find ways to circumvent spending restrictions imposed by the Model Code of Conduct. In 2019, the CMS reported that the BJP accounted for 45 per cent of the total spending of Rs 60,000 crore, a share that Rao believes will increase in the 2024 elections. In his latest book, 'Next Big Game Changer of Elections', Rao highlighted the growing reliance on 'money power' over ideology in Indian politics. He lamented the transformation of election campaigns from ideology-driven movements to "jingoistic apparatuses" that leverage demographics to create divisive tactics and polarisation. Rao identified six key trends in the ongoing general election -- prolonged pre-poll activities, affluent candidates dominating the fray, the 'Mandi' phenomenon of political crossovers, manipulation through various channels, lack of fair play, and the power dynamics favouring incumbents. As digital campaigning gains prominence, political parties are engaging professional agencies for higher brand recall. Amit Wadhwa, CEO of leading advertising agency Dentsu Creative, said that there has been a significant surge in digital campaigning this year. He said political parties were behaving like corporate brands and were engaging professional agencies for higher brand recall. "With the inclusion of both direct and indirect digital campaigns, this medium's footprint is poised to become the mainstay, potentially outshining all others in this election. Television, digital platforms, and outdoor advertising are ahead, relegating print to fourth place," he projected, based on his observations. A top ad agency official said voters unaffiliated with any political ideology, referred to as 'fence-sitters,' are the primary targets of the intense visual campaigns launched by parties across various media. Social media giants like Meta and Google play significant roles in political campaigns, he said. Advertisement professional Jadavendra Sen categorised advertisements into three types - Above the Line (ATL) activities, which include outdoor, television, and print; Below the Line (BTL) activities, encompassing wall writings and posters; and Through the Line (TTL) activities, which involve third-party like influencers and digital platforms. Sen highlighted that during the initial voting phase in North Bengal, there was a notable demand for flex advertising. He anticipated that the intensity of visual campaigning would escalate with every passing election phase. In response to the spending budget this year, agencies associated with leading national parties like BJP and Congress did not offer any comments but acknowledged the increase had been significant. SEE ALSO:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/jiocinema-introduces-new-ad-free-premium-plans-starting-at-29/articleshow/109581033.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/jiocinema-introduces-new-ad-free-premium-plans-starting-at-29/articleshow/109581033.cms" target="_blank">An Ambani disruption in OTT: At just ₹1 per day, you can now enjoy ad-free content on JioCinema</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/realme-narzo-70-narzo-70x-5g-smartphones-launched-in-india-starting-at-11999/articleshow/109557895.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/realme-narzo-70-narzo-70x-5g-smartphones-launched-in-india-starting-at-11999/articleshow/109557895.cms" target="_blank">Realme Narzo 70, Narzo 70X 5G smartphones launched in India starting at ₹11,999</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/apple-let-loose-event-scheduled-for-may-7-ipads-expected-to-be-launched/articleshow/109553148.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/apple-let-loose-event-scheduled-for-may-7-ipads-expected-to-be-launched/articleshow/109553148.cms" target="_blank">Apple Let Loose event scheduled for May 7 – New iPad models expected to be launched</a>

2024 LS polls pegged as costliest ever, expenditure may touch ₹1.35 lakh crore: Expert

<ul><li><keyword id="13281567" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="locofast" source="Orion">Locofast</keyword> has raised $15 million in a round co-led by Stellaris Venture Partners and Chiratae Ventures.</li><li>The company has also raised debt from strategic partners such as Stride Ventures and BlackSoil Capital.</li><li>Locofast wants to use this capital to expand to more than 15 cities in India, and launch new product categories as well.</li></ul>Business-to-business (B2B) textile marketplace Locofast has raised $15 million in a round co-led by Stellaris Venture Partners and Chiratae Ventures, with participation from Kris Gopalakrishnan’s fund Axilor Ventures, <keyword id="7349800" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="bharatpe" source="Orion">BharatPe</keyword>’s CEO Suhail Sameer, Park+’s CEO Amit Lakhotia and Uni’s Nitin Gupta. Alongside equity, the company has also raised debt from strategic partners such as Stride Ventures and BlackSoil Capital. The investment was a part of Series A round. Locofast was founded by serial entrepreneurs Deepak Wadhwa and Mohit Piplani, who previously founded a travel marketplace WeAreHolidays. The company wants to address the currently broken textile supply chain through a platform that connects vendors as well as suppliers. The company claims to have rapidly expanded to onboard over 500 suppliers, who have collectively executed over 5,000 orders pan India. The company claims to have touched a supply chain of over 700 brands, including Zara, H&amp;M, Primark and others. Locofast wants to use this capital to expand to more than 15 cities in India, and launch new product categories as well. It will also look to expand its workforce and invest heavily in building technology to help small and medium enterprises (SME) to scale their business. “Despite being a major contributor to India’s GDP [gross domestic product], the textile industry is fragmented and slow in terms of technological adoption. With our previous entrepreneurial experience coupled with technical expertise, on-ground study of the ecosystem and understanding of SME [small and medium enterprises] functioning, our mission is to enable a sophisticated tech-enabled platform for textile SMEs and empower them with market linkages from across the world,” Deepak Wadhwa, founder and chief executive (CEO) of Locofast, said. The company aims to be the largest textile marketplace in Southeast Asia. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/ashneer-grover-resigns-from-bharatpe-heres-what-he-wrote-in-his-resignation-letter/articleshow/89912762.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Ashneer Grover resigns from BharatPe. This is what he had to say.</a> <a class="tout-title-link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/swiggy-dunzo-zepto-and-grofers-should-roll-back-10-minute-delivery-says-petition/articleshow/89900739.cms">A netizen is seeking roll back of the 10 minute delivery feature on Swiggy, Dunzo, Zepto and Grofers</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/as-long-as-mukesh-ambani-is-there-to-rescue-the-market-doesnt-care-about-future-retails-financial-stress/articleshow/89886569.cms">As long as Mukesh Ambani is there to rescue, the market doesn't care about Future Retail's financial stress</a>

BharatPe CEO, PayU's cofounder and others invest $15 million in an online textile marketplace

New Delhi, The Central Bureau of Investigation (<keyword id="6354572" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="cbi" source="Orion">CBI</keyword>) in its charge sheet lodged in the Rs 34,615 crore <keyword id="127124" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="dhfl" source="Orion">DHFL</keyword> loan fraud case has said that the accused created 87 shell companies and 2,60,000 fake borrowers to launder money. The charge sheet was filed in the second week of October. The federal probe agency has also said in its charge sheet that the accused set up a virtual branch to launder money. The CBI had on October 15 filed the charge sheet against 75 accused, including private companies before the Rouse Avenue court in Delhi. It has been alleged that <keyword id="2693" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="kapil" source="Orion">Kapil</keyword> and Dheeraj <keyword id="695125" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="wadhawan" source="Orion">Wadhawan</keyword> laundered money and purchased 24 paintings worth Rs 63 crore. The charge sheet said that the laundered money was spent on credit cards, foreign trips and renting chartered planes. The CBI has alleged that Wadhwas were using a special designed software which was generating dummy data. The software was also showing various fake entries of home loan takers. The accused also created a virtual branch in the name of Bandra branch with a code 001 whereas in reality this branch does not exist. From this virtual branch, loans were given to shell companies. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Case history" comment="subhead" text="Case history">Case history</cmsannotation> The charge sheet has been filed against Kapil Wadhawan, Dheeraj Wadhawan, both the then CMD, DHFL; Harshil Mehta, its ex CEO, Ajay Vazirani; Advocate, Jayesh Khona; the then Vice President (Accounting), DHFL, Dinesh Bansal; Director of D K Realty (India) Pvt. Ltd, Sunny Bathija; Director of Sunblink Real Estate Pvt. Ltd, Ajay Navandar; Jignesh Mehta, CA of Chaturvedi &amp; Shah LLP, Amit Chaturvedi, Partner of Chaturvedi &amp; Shah LLP and others. In July the CBI had seized a helicopter parked in a hangar at the premises of Avinash Bhosale, one of the accused, at Baner Road in Pune. "It came to light that RKW Developers Pvt. Ltd (a company owned by Wadhawan family) allegedly has stakes in Varva Aviation (an Association of Persons) which owns an AW109SP Grand New Helicopter (AgustaWestland Helicopter) which was allegedly purchased in 2011. RKW Developers Pvt. Ltd joined the Association of Persons in 2017 contributing towards cost price and maintenance of said helicopter. "ABIL Infraprojects Ltd, a company owned by Avinash Bhosale allegedly has a stake in the said helicopter. As it was allegedly apprehended that the funds used for making payment towards the stake in Association of Persons were sourced from loan funds sanctioned by different banks, therefore, we have seized the helicopter which was parked in a hangar at the premises of Bhosale at Baner Road, Pune," the CBI had said. Earlier the federal probe agency had seized two paintings made by F.N. Souza (1964) and another by S.H. Raza (1956) worth Rs 5.50 crore; two watches of Jacob &amp; Co &amp; Frank Muller Geneve make worth Rs 5 crore and Jewellery including worth Rs 2 crore. The CBI had said that the promoters had acquired expensive items using the diverted funds. DHFL Directors Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhwan, who were arrested by the agency, were brought to Delhi from Lucknow. Earlier on July 8, the CBI had recovered paintings and sculptures worth Rs 40 crore. A case was registered on June 20, 2022. Vipin Kumar Shukla, DGM and Branch head of Union Bank of India, Nariman Point, Mumbai lodged an FIR in this connection. It was alleged in the complaint Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Ltd (DHFL), Kapil Wadhawan it's former CMD, Dheeraj Wadhawan, the ex-Directors, Sudhakar Shetty and other accused entered into a criminal conspiracy to cheat the Consortium of 17 banks led by Union Bank of India. "Wadhawan and others induced the consortium banks to sanction huge loans aggregating to Rs 42,871.42 crore and siphoned off and misappropriated a significant portion of the said funds by falsifying the books of the DHFL and dishonestly defaulted on repayment of the legitimate dues of the said consortium banks. That caused a wrongful loss of Rs 34,615.00 crore to the consortium lenders," said the CBI. The CBI after conducting an inquiry lodged the case under sections 120-B read with 409, 420, 477-A of IPC and Section 13(2) read with sections 13(1)(d) of Prevention of Corruption Act. The FIR was lodged against DHFL, its former CMD Wadhwan, MD Dheeraj Rajeshkurrar Wadhwan, present Director <keyword id="4946125" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="sudhkar-shetty" source="Orion">Sudhkar Shetty</keyword>, Amaryllis Realtors LLP (ARLLP), Gulmarg Realtors LLP (GRLLP), Skylark Buildcon Pvt. Ltd, Darshan Developers Pvt. Ltd, Sigtia Constructions Pvt. Ltd, Creator Builders Pvt. Ltd, Township Developers Pvt. Ltd, Shishir Reality Pvt. Ltd, Sunblink Real Estate PM. Ltd and other unknown persons including public servants. The official said that it was found that the promoters had allegedly diverted the funds and made investments in various entities. It was also alleged that the promoters had acquired expensive paintings and sculptures worth about Rs 55 crore using the diverted funds. Earlier, searches were conducted on June 22 at 12 locations in Mumbai at the premises of the accused which led to recovery of incriminating documents. Further investigation in the matter was on.

DHFL loan fraud case: Money laundered via 87 shell firms, 2.6 lakh fake borrowers

New Delhi, Mar 25 () The nationwide lockdown for next 21 days amid spread of coronavirus will severely impact residential real estate as housing sales have almost come to a standstill, which could affect builders' cash flow and lead to default in repayment of bank loans, according to property developers and consultants. Market experts also fear that existing customers might delay payments of their instalments to developers, who in turn could default in repayment of principal and interest on bank loans. Developers may hold on to apartment rates, but prices in the secondary or resale market could fall, they said. To mitigate the impact, developers and brokers are adopting digital marketing tools to reach out to prospective home buyers. When contacted, realtors' apex body CREDAI President Satish Magar said the lockdown will greatly impact the sales transactions and new launches will be deferred. "There are chances of many customers defaulting on their instalments because of tough economic conditions. These will have a cascading effect on developers-who will be battling with servicing their debts as cash inflows will be strained," he added. NAREDCO President Niranjan Hiranandani said overall sales numbers have dropped. The lockdown has opened up opportunities for digital platforms for sales and marketing activities, as also payments, he said. Bengaluru-based Puravankara MD Ashish R. Puravankara said: "At this point, no property registrations are taking place and all new project launches are postponed". As all construction sites are under lockdown, there will be a delay in completion leading to an increase in the interest cost, he added. "Additionally the lockdown could hamper the cash flow cycle of the developers' balance sheets and could result in bank defaults", said Ashish. Anarock Chairman Anuj Puri said the lockdown will have a negative impact on housing sales and new launches during the auspicious festivals of Gudi Padwa, Akshaya Tritiya, Navratri and Ugadi. "This is a time when AV technology to enable virtual site visits and walk-throughs will gain increased relevance and use," he said. Anshuman Magazine, Chairman &amp; CEO (India, South East Asia, Middle East &amp; Africa), CBRE said: "It is too early to comment on the impact of Covid 19 given that the situation is still evolving ... We are confident that once the situation normalises, sales will resume". Dhruv Agarwala, Group CEO, Housing.com and PropTiger.com, said the lockdown will have an adverse impact on real estate. "We too have begun to see a dip in traffic on all our platforms," he said, adding that the company has come out with innovative schemes for builders and brokers to advertise on its websites. Siva Krishnan, MD (Residential Services and Developer Solutions), JLL India said the lockdown will definitely have an impact on housing sales, but briefly. Shalin Raina, MD- Residential Services, Cushman and Wakefield, said the complete lockdown means lesser sales since most of the transaction closures happen only after site visits. Housing prices have corrected by 15-20 per cent in the last few years and further decline is unlikely, Raina said. Savills India CEO Anurag Mathur said: "Housing sales may see a sharp dip for at least the next one quarter... Even if the situation settles down quickly, it may take time for homebuyers to come back to the market." "Price elasticity is not a concern under the circumstances since the transaction activity is at a standstill anyway. Depending upon the duration and depth of the current crisis, prices may or may not see a downward movement," he said. Omaxe CEO Mohit Goel said the recovery in the housing segment has been halted. "As for real estate prices, there will be no change as transactions are not taking place. The prices will resume at the level it has halted," he said. Gaurs' MD Manoj Gaur said, "The sales are impacted, but it is temporary." Supertech Chairman R K Arora said, "housing sales have completely gone". There are no buyers in the market. Pune-based Gera Developments MD Rohit Gera said, "Real estate sales are at a standstill. So far there has not been any reduction or crash in prices of homes." "In the absence of some relief from the government, more real estate developers with debt obligations will default on account of the stop in cash flows thereby impacting the economy and jobs," he added. M3M Director Pankaj Bansal said housing sales would get impacted during this period of crisis, but it would also create a pent up demand once things get back to normal. Experion Developers Senior ED Ananta Singh Raghuvanshi said, "Sales closures are temporarily getting pushed ahead. Prices won't change." Raheja Developers ED Nayan Raheja said the sales and construction are badly impacted and at standstill. ABA Corp Director Amit Modi said the sales velocity has definitely been slow. Gulshan Homz Director Deepak Kapoor said, "People are deferring property buying decisions." PropEquity MD Samir Jasuja said: "For the real estate sector, this is a tough situation as it was just finding green shoots of recovery. We believe for the next few weeks, we will not see any new transactions for housing sales". Ambience President (Sales &amp; Marketing) Ankush Kaul said: "Housing sales will be impacted for the next few weeks." Ekta World Chairman Ashok Mohanani said the lockdown has affected the business cycle deeply. Wadhwa group, Head - Sales, Marketing Bhasker Jain said the lockdown has impacted sales and the company is offering cashback on online bookings. Brokerage firm 360 Realtors Ankit Kansal said the activities have come to a standstill after lockdown. Sales were down by 30-40 per cent during the first three weeks of March. Investors Clinic Founder Honeyy Katiyal said sales would be impacted but not the price. Wealth Clinic CMD Amit Raheja said, "It will hamper sales to a large extent, but we expect a good turnaround once the situation returns to normalcy." MJH MRMR

Nationwide lockdown to impact housing sales, say realtors

When 43-year-old Indian origin <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Everything-you-need-to-know-about-Googles-new-CEO-Sundar-Pichai/articleshow/48430267.cms">Sundar Pichai</a> was named <keyword id="2996011" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Chief-Executive-Officer-of-internet-giant">Chief Executive Officer of internet giant</keyword> <keyword id="6355629" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Google">Google</keyword> by co-founders <keyword id="100155" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Larry-Page">Larry Page</keyword> and <keyword id="360878" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Sergei-Brin">Sergei Brin</keyword> today, Indians across the world commemorated the occasion as if each one of them had a personal stake in the development. 
 
Though, to be fair they did have reason to rejoice. With Pichai’s elevation from Senior Vice President of Chrome, Android and Apps to CEO, he joins the growing club of corporations run by Indian-born business leaders and the elite club of Indians heading a technology giant, right in the footsteps of Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. 
 
His promotion as CEO came after Google’s Larry Page announced<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Heres-what-analysts-are-saying-about-Googles-huge-re-organization-announcement/articleshow/48435862.cms"> changes to the company’s executive structure</a> in a bid to present a ‘slimmed down Google,’ which will be included under a new parent company, Alphabet. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/In-choosing-Alphabet-Inc-Google-joins-a-branded-crowd/articleshow/48437236.cms">Alphabet</a>, headed by Larry Page is essentially a collection of companies, the largest of which will inevitably be Google. 
 
Joining Google as a ‘low-key manager’ in 2004, Pichai quickly worked his way up the ladder and became part of the team that successfully launched Chrome browser in 2008. Then in 2012, he undertook the responsibility of heading Apps after the former head departed. And, finally in 2013, he was put in charge of Android. 
 
Pichai’s advancement as Product Chief in 2014 quite literally sealed the deal as he became second-in-command to none other than Page. In a press release announcing Pichai’s new post, Page mentions how Pichai ‘stepped up since October last year, when he took on product and engineering responsibility for our Internet businesses.’ 
 
However, the responsibility of heading the $66 billion-revenue, $16-billion profit, company didn’t come easy to Pichai. He undoubtedly worked for it. Really hard. 
 
Responding to a recent Quora thread which questioned Pichai’s surprising promotion to the highest ranks, Chris Beckmann, former Product Manager at Google was all praise for Pichai, crediting him for recruiting, mentoring and retaining the best team of product managers who helped him spearhead ‘successful efforts for difficult projects that were core to <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Heres-an-interesting-theory-making-the-rounds-about-Googles-big-shakeup/articleshow/48430574.cms">Google’s</a> continued financial success, namely Toolbar and Chrome.’ He also added that Pichai ‘avoided making enemies’ and instead navigated office politics to build a team that’s talented and one that delivers. 
 
In comparison, it took <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Microsofts-Windows-10-to-change-the-tech-world-says-Nadella/articleshow/48070350.cms">Satya Nadella</a> 20 years to rise up to the coveted rank of CEO of technology giant Microsoft. However, that is where the differences between the two Indian-origin CEOs end. 
 
Both Nadella and Pichai now command an influential position in the US tech world and they’re not alone. The list also includes Shantanu Narayen, President and CEO of Adobe, Vinod Khosla, co-founder of Sun Microsystems, Amit Singhal, Senior Vice President at Google, Rajeev Suri, CEO of Nokia and Rashmi Sinha, co-founder of SlideShare. 
 Moreover, according to a 2014 report by Dr Vishwas Wadhwa, the founders of 15% of the startups in the <keyword id="6357722" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="silicon-valley">Silicon Valley</keyword> are Indians. 
 
So, what is it exactly that’s making Indians stand tall in the Silicon Valley? 
 
It’s certainly a stark contrast from the scenario in 1992, when Indians in the Silicon Valley were deemed incapable of becoming managers- leave aside CEOs, despite being excellent engineers. 
 
The metamorphosis from 1992 to today can be largely attributed to banishing negative stereotypes that limited the entry of Indians to enviable positions. 
 
To attain this, the first generation of Indian-Americans who successfully started shattering the glass-ceiling acted as mentors for the future generations, providing them seed-funding, sharing their experiences and opening quite a few doors. 
 
This also unraveled in the management culture wherein it was noticed by a 2004 research from St. Gallen University in Switzerland that Indian executives prioritised participative administration and building meaningful relationships with subordinates which fostered an emotional bond. 
 
As Indra Nooyi, the CEO of Pepisco, once famously divulged, there's no executives in the ‘Indian club’ who possess a dictatorial style of management. “They value their employees as a person.” 
 
Additionally, they are also known to be future-oriented, patient, humble and persistent- traits which are sacrosanct for any leader. 
 
Thus, it comes as no surprise that the unique process of mentoring and uplifting within the community, immense hard work and dedication by Indian-Americans themselves, have worked out in a way which promptly put the Indian club of executives onto the global platform. 
 
Image credit: Indiatimes

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