Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has announced revamped credit guarantee scheme for MSMEs in the 2023-24 Union Budget today.

The scheme, which will take effect from April 1, 2023, will infuse Rs 9,000 crore into the corpus, enabling additional collateral-free credit of Rs 2 lakh crore to the MSMEs.

Despite war and global recession disruptions, sales across different MSMEs in India reportedly reached 90% of the pre-pandemic levels. The sector pinned hopes on this year’s budget to introduce schemes that could help MSMEs achieve self-reliance. The revamped credit guarantee schemes will give the sector a much-needed shot in the arm. 

Last budget, Sitharaman introduced a slew of measures related to credit access for the MSMEs to help the sector recover from covid-related setbacks and employment-generation through digital channels. 

Seedtag, the leading contextual advertising company, has today announced its first entry into the Indian market. As its latest international expansion, Seedtag continues moving forward in its mission to become the global contextual partner for brands and agencies, providing the most effective digital advertising solutions on the open web.

Since its launch in 2014, Seedtag has pioneered the use of AI and machine learning to create its contextual technology, LIZ©, and has built a privacy-first advertising solution in the market which is currently the leading contextual solution in EMEA and LATAM. By leveraging Seedtag’s Contextual AI, LIZ©, brands can build valuable trust with their audiences, delivering relevant ads without needing their personal information, creating the most effective advertising for a better internet. Seedtag is now entering its second Asian market, following the opening of its Dubai office in 2022.

Based in Mumbai, Sales Director Milva Povo will be responsible for leading a brand new team, tasked with ensuring success in Seedtag’s newest market. Milva brings a wealth of experience and expertise in the digital space, having worked in both media sales and agencies over the past 15 years, allowing her to build relationships with brands and understand their needs. Before joining Seedtag, she most recently served as head of sales for India at Blis India, having also previously spent 8 years at the leading agency GroupM.

Milva Povo, Sales Director India at Seedtag, states: “Change is the only constant in the digital media space, everyday technology innovations push the bar to make every advertising dollar worth its run. Seedtag has a great product offering which not only distinguishes its solutions from other ad tech players but also bridges the gap to reach the most relevant user in the contextual AI space. I’m sure this will only continue and Seedtag will make waves in the Indian market, riding on the global success in every market we are present in.”

Dal Gill, VP Global Partnerships at Seedtag, adds: “It's an exciting launch for Seedtag as we see this being the perfect time to enter the digital advertising market in India. Combining a big push on digitalisation, access to data for all demographics, rising middle class and the appetite to invest from the big brands in the region. We are looking forward to positioning our best in class contextual offering to local brands to help reach campaign objectives whatever they may be.”

Over the past eight years, Seedtag has been on a path of outstanding exponential growth, and recently received funding of over €250 million from private equity firm Advent International. In the past year, the company has opened an office and expanded rapidly in the US, with the Indian market representing its latest international expansion. Seedtag also recently concluded the acquisition and integration of performance advertising specialist KMTX, expanding its capabilities to offer a leading contextual performance solution at all levels of the funnel.

Havas Group today announced it has taken a majority stake in HRZN, one of Germany's emerging independent creative agencies for social media and content. Founded in 2011 and headquartered in Mannheim with two additional branches in Düsseldorf and Hamburg, HRZN specialises in all disciplines of online-located brand communication – from social media consulting, social listening and analytics to content, brand experience and community management.

The 45-strong team of experts led by Managing Director Stephan Lachmann supports well-known brands and has established an in-depth specialisation in the retail, FMCG and automotive segments.

Yannick Bolloré, Chairman and CEO of Havas Group, says: “We are delighted to start 2023 by welcoming a new member to the Havas family. HRZN is a fantastic addition to our Group and will further strengthen our social media offering which sits at the heart of our Villages. The HRZN teams will work hand in hand with all our creative and media agencies in Germany to provide top-of-the-range solutions for our clients. Our teams have already successfully partnered together in recent pitches, and the potential for future collaboration is endless. A very warm welcome to the team!”

Stephan Lachmann, Managing Director HRZN: "HRZN stands for creative and data-based social media communication as a one-stop shop with a clear focus on client impact. Together with Havas, we now have the opportunity to act even more effectively and holistically in the market and to expand the range of services for clients beyond the industries and regions previously served by HRZN."

HRZN focuses on the consumer-oriented potential exploitation of brands online and implements effective communication and marketing projects that, starting with consulting, extend to web and app development. For example, HRZN is responsible for several holistic campaigns (social media, POS, OOH, digital) as well as community management and social media crisis communications.

"With HRZN, we refine our service offering in Germany and expand the value chain of our fully integrated portfolio under one agency brand. We mutually strengthen our disciplines, which are becoming increasingly relevant for modern marketing, and offer our clients one-stop solutions in an increasingly complex environment. This is another step towards meeting the demands of agility and flexibility that are being placed on an agency," comments Peter Mergemeier, CEO Havas Creative Group Germany.

The Editors Guild of India has expressed concerns over the recent draft amendment made to the Information Technology Rules, 2021, by the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MEITY) that gives authority to the Press Information Bureau (PIB) to determine the veracity of news reports, and anything termed ‘fake’ will have to be taken down by online intermediaries, including social media platforms.

The amendment was uploaded on the Ministry’s website on January 17, 2023.

“At the outset, determination of fake news cannot be in the sole hands of the government and will result in the censorship of the press. Already multiple laws exist to deal with content that is found to be factually incorrect. This new procedure basically serves to make it easier to muzzle the free press, and will give sweeping powers to the PIB, or any “other agency authorised by the Central Government for fact checking”, to force online intermediaries to take down content that the government may find problematic,” the guild said in a statement.

“Further, the words "in respect of any business of the Central Government” seems to give the government a carte blanche to determine what is fake or not with respect to its own work. This will stifle legitimate criticism of the government and will have an adverse impact on the ability of the press to hold governments to account, which is a vital role it plays in a democracy.

“It must be further noted that the Guild had raised its deep concerns with the IT Rules when they were first introduced in March 2021, claiming that they empower the Union Government to block, delete, or modify published news anywhere in the country without any judicial oversight. Various provisions in these rules have the potential to place unreasonable restrictions on digital news media, and consequently media at large,” it noted further.

The Guild has urged the Ministry to expunge this new amendment, and to initiate meaningful consultations with press bodies, media organisations, and other stakeholders, on the regulatory framework for digital media, so as to not undermine press freedom.

exchange4media group is hosting the Pride of India Brands - The Best of North conference and awards ceremony today in Delhi. The half-day conference will be followed by a felicitation ceremony recognising the brands of north Bharat.  The e4m Pride of India Brands Awards 2023 will celebrate and felicitate brands from the Northern belt of India that have been game-changers.

The theme of the conference is “Building brands for Bharat: Investing in Bharat’s future & reshaping the growth story.” The conference and awards are presented by ABP News and are Co-powered by Star Plus.  Fancode is the Co-Gold Partner while the knowledge partner for the event is TAM.

The agenda of the conference is a power-packed one with various brand leaders sharing their seasoned insights. The programme will witness a report unveiling, five panel discussions and a fireside chat.

The conference will be opened with the unveiling of a report by LV Krishnan, CEO, TAM Media Research. In today’s competitive landscape with escalating margin pressures, scaling profitability and gaining an edge over the competition requires advertising campaigns that are relatable, accessible and most importantly feasible for the businesses. Our speaker will share an exclusive report on ‘Advertisement spending and the future of brands of north Bharat’.

While there is no doubt that digital has essentially become a must-have for brands today and is growing exponentially, it is also no secret that TV’s audience scale and presence are massive & all pervasive whether it be large metros or Heartland Bharat. Panellists will try to understand the power that TV holds in building brands and successful Indian Businesses in the first panel discussion on ‘Power of TV building brands and successful Indian businesses’. The session chair for the discussion will be Amrutha Nair, Head - Entertainment Ad Sales & Strategy, Disney Star

The panel members are:

• Charu Malhotra, VP & Head of Marketing, Hindware Limited
• Jaikishin Chhaproo, Head Media & PR, ITC
• Samir Sethi, VP & Head Of Brand Marketing, Policybazaar
• Archana Aggarwal, VP- Media, Airtel
• Priti Murthy, President, GroupM Nexus

The above-mentioned panel will be followed by another panel discussion on the topic “Powerful marketing strategy: A key to success”. Through the evolution of time, marketing has remained a very important part of the brand-building process. However, marketing has time and again diversified and classified itself owing to the various stakeholders involved and the need of the hour. In this panel, the aim will be to understand how optimizing the marketing budget, content and the concepts underlying the initiatives can make a difference in building a brand that India trusts.

The panel will be chaired by Amit Wadhwa, CEO, Dentsu Creative (India ) and the panel members will be: 

• Suman Varma, CMO, Hamdard ( Medicine Division )
• Amit Anand, MD, Apis India
• Udita Bansal, Founder & CEO, TrueBrowns
• Prashant Sinha, Co-Founder, Momspresso
• Raghunandan Saraf, Founder & CEO, Saraf Furniture
• Ravi Singhal, CEO, GCL

Up next, there will be another panel discussion on “Data & Digital: Tools for new Bharat”. The huge increase in customer interactions and touchpoints has created enormous amounts of data – that has in spite of creating new challenges for brands, brought about enormous opportunities to enhance the brand-building process.

In this discussion, panellists will try to explore the importance of identifying many Bharats within Bharat with the use of data and technology in order to reach the ambition of New Bharat.

Please welcome on stage our moderator Shradha Agarwal, Co-founder and CEO, Grapes

The panelists will be:

• Varun Khurana, CEO & Founder, Otipy
• Aloke Bajpai, Group CEO & Co-Founder, Ixigo
• Ameya Dangi, CEO, Niine Hygiene
• Sidharth Kedia, CEO, Nodwin Gaming
• Mugdh Rajit, Marketing Head, Lava International
• Amit Gupta, MD- SAG Infotech

Are there any parameters to define ‘Success’? Especially when it comes to homegrown brands in India. And if yes, what are the secrets of building a successful brand that is truly Indian at heart? We will find answers to these questions and more in another panel discussion at the e4m Pride of India Brands - The Best of North which will explore “Success Stories”.

The session chair for the discussion will be Ruhail Amin, Sr. Editor exchange4media & BW Businessworld and the panelists will be

• Aakash Anand, Partner, Ananta Capital, Founder & CEO- IDAM House
• OAkshay Bector, Chairman & MD, Cremica Foods
• Arushi Jain, Director, Akum Drugs
• Varun Ganjoo, Co-Founder & CMO, Baazi Games
• Punkaj Guptaa, Director, RP Foam Home Pvt Ltd.

Though an intangible asset, brand trust is key in building brands for Bharat. Almost a “new marketing currency” that goes beyond traditional motivators like price or discounts — brand trust is a long-term approach to building stickiness with consumers

In this exclusive chat on Building brand that Bharat Trusts with Mona Jain, Chief Revenue Officer, ABP Network;

Upasana Taku, Chairperson, Co-Founder & COO, MobiKwik will share the roadmap to revolutionizing digital payments in India.

The conference will be concluded with a “Leader’s Roundtable”. For an industry of such scale that is expanding daily, there is always so much new to learn and the leader’s roundtable will be a window to this wisdom.

The session chair for the panel discussion will be moderator Aditi Mishra, Chief Executive Officer, Lodestar UM and the  panellists will be: 

• Akshay Modi, Joint Managing Director, Modi Naturals
• Jitendra Agrawal, CEO - Lighting & Consumer Durables, Surya Roshni
• A. K Tyagi, Executive Director, Haldirams
• Daviender Narang, Director, Jaipuria Institute of Management
• Deepak Sahni, Founder & CEO, Healthians

Awards:

The awards are a recognition and celebration of the best brands built by North Indian business houses over the years and honour the indomitable spirit of these businesses during challenging times. The awards are given to the brands of North India that have demonstrated leadership, strategic accomplishments, creativity and constant innovation in their product, processes and marketing practices.

Agenda:

https://e4mevents.com/pride-of-north-india-brands-2022/agenda

To Attend, Register:

https://e4mevents.com/pride-of-north-india-brands-2022/register#register

In the latest spate of firings from the tech industry, ShareChat has announced its decision to let go of 20% (close to 600 employees) of its workforce as part of its cost-cutting exercise. The company announced through an internal mail that the layoffs were carried out to help the company sustain "several external macro factors that impact the cost and availability of capital."

The tech company said that the decision to lay off 20% of its "incredibly talented employees" was one of "the most difficult and painful decisions" in its history.

It added that expensive capital has forced companies like ShareChat to solely "prioritise their bets and invest in the highest-impact projects."

The move comes shortly after Mohalla Tech shut down its fantasy gaming platform Jeet11 in December 2022, when 100 of its employees were let off.

As per the company communique, the severance package will comprise salary for the notice period, two weeks' salary for every year served at ShareChat, payment of full variable till December 2022 and health insurance cover, which will remain active till June 2023.

Tata Tea has roped in Media.Monks as its digital and content partner.

“Tata Tea, with multiple national and regional brands, holds a mirror to the diversity of India and its varied taste in tea. Recognizing this, Tata Tea’s marketing approach is to connect with its diverse customers through relevant digital content. In order to do this with high quality and at the scale that a hyper-local approach requires, it has selected Media.Monks as its digital and content partner,” the company said.

The remit will include a wide scope of digital and content work, from tech integration to creative ideation and content across all digital platforms.

Adding to this, Kiran Ramamurthy, chief operating officer, Media.Monks India, says, “It is an honor to partner with Tata Tea. The assignment comes with a huge responsibility - to build on the amazing work that brands from the Tata Tea stable have been doing. It calls for creating in the digital universe, brand stories that resonate state by state through sharp local insighting. It will also be about using technology to bring these brand stories to life. We are excited to bring together content specialists from virtually every part of the country to work on this mandate.”

Media.Monks, which connects content, data & digital media, and technology services across one team, built from the bottom up, is ideally suited to this mandate.