National, 03 June, 2026: Innovatiview, India’s largest leading examination technology and infrastructure companies, today announced the appointment of Priyank Kanade as Chief Business Officer, Examination Infrastructure Business. Priyank will lead Innovatiview’s Examination Infrastructure Business under the brand name of Aadarsh Pariksha Kendra with a mandate to drive expansion of the company’s CBT (Computer Based Test) exam centre network across India.

Priyank brings over 15 years of leadership experience across consumer technology, D2C e-commerce, omni-channel retail, and management consulting. Over the course of his career, he has held leadership positions at renowned organisations including CaratLane (a Tata Group company), Flipkart, Livspace, Furlenco, and Accenture, where he led large-scale business operations, strategic growth initiatives, and operational transformation programs.

He holds an MBA from the Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad and a B.Tech in Chemical Engineering from IIT Bombay.

Commenting on the appointment, Mr. Ashish Mittal, Whole-time Director, Innovatiview, said: “Priyank brings a rare combination of strategic thinking, operational excellence, and the ability to build businesses at scale. As India’s examination ecosystem undergoes rapid and structural transformation, his leadership will play a critical role in strengthening Innovatiview’s position as a trusted partner for secure, technology-driven assessment infrastructure across the country.”

Speaking on his appointment, Priyank Kanade said: “India still has a long way to go in providing fair, tech-enabled testing infrastructure for everyone. In a country where an exam defines entire career for millions of students, so getting to build reliable, large-scale systems that truly protect that future is incredibly meaningful to me. I’m really excited to join Innovatiview just as they are scaling up to meet this challenge.”

Innovatiview is a technology-driven company providing ancillary security, surveillance, and infrastructure solutions for examinations across India. As of September 30, 2024, the company is India’s largest integrated examination security player, commanding a 73.7% revenue market share in Fiscal 2024 (Source: F&S Report).

The company offers end-to-end examination security to curb malpractices, utilizing CCTV surveillance, biometric controls, physical frisking, VoIP communication, GPS tracking, and dedicated infrastructure. Innovatiview is India’s first company, for integrating AI technology into CCTV surveillance and touchless biometric verification to prevent impersonation. In the six months ending September 30, 2024, it served over 72 clients and secured more than 1,409 examinations nationwide.

Innovatiview has continually been expanding its reach into the field of test administration and testing infrastructure, providing solutions to government departments, educational organizations, and recruitment companies alike.

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Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has been named by JW Marriott as its global brand ambassador, as the group seeks to reinforce its positioning around mindful luxury and strengthen its bond with international travellers.

The brand will use the association to promote its global “Stay in the Moment” platform, which nudges travellers to embrace presence, balance and well-being during their stay.

JW Marriott, which has 130+ properties globally, is looking at India as a growth magnate at a time when luxury travel is taking hold in the country. The brand has announced the partnership in view of the growing demand for luxury travel amid rising income levels, and guests’ choice for experiences that offer comfort with purpose.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s association with JW Marriott sits well with the brand’s global positioning, as the popular actor has maintained a strong global presence over her decades-long career. The partnership is expected to boost the brand’s global narrative around intentional travel and personal well-being.

Bruce Rohr, Vice President and Global Brand Leader, JW Marriott, said on the development, “Aishwarya’s global stature, warmth, and authenticity make her a natural embodiment of JW Marriott and an ideal partner for the brand. She brings a thoughtful, grounded presence that reflects the way our guests seek to travel – with intention and a sense of connection.”

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan stated, “Travel has always been an important part of my life, both personally and professionally. The most meaningful experiences are often the quietest ones, when you are fully aware of where you are and who you are with.”

As part of the collaboration, Aishwarya is expected to bring visibility for the brand across films, print and digital platforms globally. The brand will also rope in the actor for curated brand experiences in India as well as in select global markets.

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New Delhi, June 2026: Adani Realty, the real estate arm of the Adani Group, has announced the appointment of Harinder Dhillon as Head – Sales & Marketing, Delhi-NCR, where he will lead the company’s sales and marketing operations across the key markets of Gurugram and Noida.

A seasoned real estate professional with over 28 years of experience across real estate, banking and customer-centric businesses, Harinder Dhillon brings extensive expertise in sales leadership, revenue generation, channel management, customer acquisition and strategic business development.

In his new role, he will be responsible for driving sales growth, strengthening market positioning, enhancing customer engagement and leading go-to-market strategies for Adani Realty’s expanding portfolio in Delhi-NCR. He will also play a pivotal role in accelerating the company’s growth ambitions in one of India’s most competitive and dynamic real estate markets.

Prior to joining Adani Realty, Harinder Dhillon held leadership positions with some of the most prominent organisations in the industry, including DLF, BPTP, ATS Infrastructure, Damac Properties, Raheja Developers, and ICICI Bank. Throughout his career, he has successfully led high-performing sales teams, launched marquee residential developments, landmark commercial and retail developments, and integrated township developments, while delivering strong business outcomes across multiple markets.

Commenting on his appointment, Harinder Dhillon, Head – Sales & Marketing, Delhi-NCR, Adani Realty, said:

“I am delighted to join Adani Realty at a time when the company is witnessing significant growth and expanding its footprint across key markets. Delhi-NCR continues to be one of the most vibrant real estate destinations in the country, driven by strong end-user demand, infrastructure development and evolving consumer aspirations. I look forward to contributing towards Adani Realty’s vision by delivering exceptional customer experiences, strengthening market presence and driving sustainable business growth across Gurugram and Noida.”

Adani Realty has emerged as one of India’s leading real estate developers, with a growing portfolio spanning residential, commercial and integrated township developments across major cities. The appointment further reinforces the company’s commitment to building a strong leadership team as it continues to expand its presence in the Delhi-NCR market.

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New Delhi: Airtel’s Priority Postpaid service, launched recently, has led to a brand battle in the country’s telecom sector. While the premium service is currently under the scanner of the regulator over net neutrality concerns, rival telecom operators have made their views clear before a parliamentary panel examining the offering.

Jio has supported Airtel’s 5G network slicing feature, which aims to provide consistent and stable data connectivity to its postpaid users, with regulatory safeguards, Vi (Vodafone Idea) has opposed it, calling it discriminatory to prepaid customers.

Vi has, in fact, built an entire campaign around the controversy, promising equal network to everyone notwithstanding whether a customer has a postpaid connection or a prepaid one.

‘Strong Network Sabka Haq’ (strong network is everyone’s right) is the simple proposition on which Vi has built its latest campaign. With punchlines like ‘Not on their priority list? You’ll always be on ours’, Vi is not just offering assurance to its prepaid user base but it is also seeking to attract Airtel prepaid customers offering them equal status as postpaid users.

The positioning is a great example of a brand indulging in competitive advertising.

When Airtel launched the Priority Postpaid service last month, it promised postpaid customers a “superior” and more consistent network experience, particularly in high-congestion environments such as concerts, stadiums, metro stations and crowded marketplaces. The service uses 5G network slicing technology to distribute network resources more efficiently and ensures dependable connectivity during peak demand to postpaid users, who pay more than prepaid customers.

The leading telecom operator has positioned the offering as an innovative feature aimed at customers who rely heavily on uninterrupted connectivity for work and entertainment, calling it a “fast lane” experience.

But, within days, Vodafone Idea went live with its ‘Everyone Matters’ campaign, targeting Airtel’s new offering without explicitly referring to it. The Vi messaging across social media platforms and public communications is revolving around themes like “equal network for all”, “Strong Network. Sabka Haq,” and “No more, no less.”

“We believe that reliable connectivity is everyone’s right and not a premium privilege. A great network should simply work – for everyone, everywhere, every time. Vi’s network is designed for all your needs, whether you’re on the move, working remotely, at a concert or a match, creating or just chilling at home, Vi has you covered with the use of AI-based self optimizing network technology,” the telco says on its website.

According to advertising experts, Vi has cleverly managed to use Airtel’s technological differentiator to raise the question of fairness. While Airtel is calling the feature a premium benefit for postpaid users who deliver more ARPU (average revenue per user) to the company, Vi is attempting to speak to its rival’s prepaid user base by suggesting that preferential treatment creates a hierarchy among users. This is why the brand’s communication is focussing heavily on inclusivity, positioning itself as the operator that is not seeking to create “VIP” and “non-VIP” categories of subscribers.

For Vi, the ‘aggressive campaign’ comes at a strategically important moment. After years of subscriber losses, Vi has recently shown signs of stabilisation as far as customer retention and acquisition is concerned. It is also moving fast in deploying 5G services across the country to tap into users who depend heavily on mobile internet data for their day-to-day activities.

For marketers, the Airtel vs Vi battle offers a case study into how a category leader can be ambushed by a smaller rival by reframing the narrative around a product innovation. While Airtel based its campaign on technology, performance and premiumisation, Vi shifted the conversation to equity, inclusivity and consumer rights.

The result is a situation where one brand is selling priority, while the other is offering equality.

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Indian advertisers breathed a sigh of relief on Monday after Zee Entertainment finally signed a deal with FIFA, football’s governing body, to broadcast the upcoming World Cup in a nation of nearly one-and-a-half-billion people.

The deal came through after months of deadlock between FIFA and Indian broadcasters over the valuation of rights. The deadlock was fast appearing to lead to a situation where one of the world’s biggest sporting spectacle, the FIFA World Cup 2026, would possibly not be available live in India.

India, in fact, was among the very few major markets where the telecast rights had remained unsold so near the start of the mega event on June 11.

As of now, the value of the deal has not been disclosed – FIFA had initially asked for nearly $100 million for the 2026 and 2030 editions but later slashed the demand to $60 million.

But Indian broadcasters were not ready to shell out even that amount for the tournament as the live telecast for most matches in India would begin past 12 midnight. This is because the 2026 World Cup is being held in the US, Canada and Mexico. This was seen as a major hurdle by the broadcasters in generating enough advertising revenue from the tournament to compensate for the money being paid for the rights.

As per information available, only 14 out of the total 104 World Cup games will kick-off before midnight India time. The final, to be held in New Jersey on July 19, will start at 12:30 am on July 20 in India.

If we compare with the previous editions, around 98% of matches started before midnight India time during the 2018 World Cup, and more than 82% at the 2022 tournament in Qatar.

It was reported that JioStar was ready to shell out between $20-25 million for the deal but backed out once it became clear that FIFA was not keen on the same.

Zee Entertainment entered the race at the very last moment and was reported to offer between $30-35 million for the rights. The media house also announced the launch of 4 sports channels in anticipation of bagging the rights to telecast the Football World Cup.

Zee is looking to make a comeback to sports broadcasting in India where JioStar, a joint venture between Reliance and Disney-Star, holds key sports telecast rights, including for the Indian Premier League, ICC cricket tournaments and the English Premier League.

As per the announcement, Zee has bagged rights to telecast 39 FIFA tournaments in India through 2034, including the 2026 and 2030 FIFA World Cups and the 2027 Women’s World Cup.

With the deal for the 2026 edition finally done, Indian brands are now looking to capitalise on the football craze in the country, especially youngsters, as they believe the odd hour timing of matches would not hold back diehard football fans from tuning in.

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Alkimyx Global has announced that it is transitioning to become an independent consultancy. Alkimyx Global is an India-first, global strategic communications and reputation advisory firm.

The firm was founded by Pranav Kumar and it has operated in India for nearly a decade. Importantly, it has been associated with Allison Worldwide.

The firm’s diverse clientele includes brands from sectors like technology, media and entertainment to travel and industrial. MNCs, category-leading brands and high-growth companies have worked with Alkimyx Global for their strategic communications and reputation needs.

Alkimyx Global is known for strengthening brand reputation, shaping stakeholder perception, and building influence through data-led intelligence, its expertise across disciplines, and specialised narrative frameworks.

It continues to establish itself as a trustworthy partner to handle reputation and influence advisory, and thought leadership. The firm is also emerging as an integrated agency by offering crisis and issues management solutions to its clients.

Pranav Kumar, Founder and CEO, Alkimyx Global, said: “Reputation today is no longer built over time alone; it is shaped in real time, across platforms, conversations, algorithms, and culture. As AI increasingly influences how information is discovered and interpreted, earned media today assumes even more importance. Discerning signals from noise is pivotal, and organisations today need greater clarity and discipline in the way they communicate. The brands that will lead are those that are not only seen, but understood and trusted.”

“Our philosophy draws from the idea of alchemy, that transformation accelerates when the right elements come together. By combining intelligence, creativity, strategy, and cultural strategy, we help brands turn complexity into clarity and influence into long-term advantage,” he added.

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Following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent call for Indians to delay buying gold in order to reduce costly imports amid the West Asia geopolitical crisis, leading jewellery brand Tanishq has launched a new campaign targeting gold exchange.

The ad campaign features cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar talking about Tanishq’s gold exchange programme, which is built on the pillar of trust and transparency.

Gold exchange is unlike any other exchange of product that the Indian consumer undertakes. For a regular Indian household, gold has sentiments attached, it is invaluable while having a value, and they do not trust every jeweller with the exchange process as the same requires expertise and trust.

This is what Tanishq is attempting to bank on with the campaign, spotlighting the brand’s gold exchange process in detail to reinforce trust and transparency.

The ad, narrated by Tendulkar, shows how the staff at Tanishq showrooms evaluate old gold jewellery in terms of purity and weight, and how the melting procedure is conducted in front of customers. The entire communication seeks to show the transparency of the process so that customers can walk in without any hesitation to exchange their old jewellery for new products.

Gold exchange has always been popular in India. But in view of the gold prices hitting the roof over the last few years, the PM’s recent call to delay purchases, and the government’s move to increase import duty on the metal, gold exchange has become a practical option for households with a decent amount of reserves as jewellery.

Exchange helps fulfil the aspirational needs of the customers through the exchange of old-fashioned jewellery with newer, more modern designs while not pinching the pockets.

The campaign also highlights that customers can exchange gold bought from anywhere, adding convenience to the entire process.

By roping in Tendulkar for the advertisement, the Tata-owned brand has tried to capitalise on values associated with the legendary cricketer, including trust, reliability, and credibility.

Explaining the messaging, Arun Narayan, CEO, Jewellery Division, Titan Company Limited, said gold exchange in India is a trust led decision, because customers are parting with jewellery that carries both emotional and financial significance.

“At Tanishq, we have built our Gold Exchange process over decades on the pillars of transparency, credibility and customer confidence,” Narayan stated.

Tendulkar also talked about the emotional connect which Indians have with the yellow metal.

“In India, gold carries a deep emotional connection, tied to life’s most important moments, especially weddings and family celebrations. Trust and transparency are therefore essential for people to feel confident and comfortable when they buy or exchange gold,” the cricketer stated.

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Last week, Google received a setback from the Delhi High Court when the latter ruled in favour of Hindware in the trademark dispute case. The court verdict was seen as having larger implications for the online advertising industry, where brands have been using keywords of rival companies to rank better in search results.

The company has now reacted to the development and said its approach is in sync with Indian trademark legislation.

A Google spokesperson was quoted as saying in media reports that the company bars competitor advertisers from using trademarked words in ad-text of an ad, and this is a policy that is applied worldwide, including India.

“We duly respect and operate in accordance with all local laws, and in instances where the orders are overbroad or inconsistent with our policies, we work to explain our position as per the legal process in the country,” the Google spokesperson reportedly said.

“Specifically on our Ads policy on trademark keywords, we have a clear and stated policy that does not allow competitor advertisers to use trademarked terms in the ad-text of an ad. This policy is consistently applied globally and is in accordance with the Indian trademark law,” the spokesperson added.

Earlier, the Delhi High Court had held Google responsible for allowing the use of the trademark ‘HINDWARE’ as a keyword in ads by rival brands. The court also imposed a cost of Rs 30 lakh on Google, to be awarded to Hindware, a popular sanitary brand.

Hindware had alleged in 2013 and 2014 that competing sanitary brands had run their online advertising campaigns on Google Ads using the keyword ‘HINDWARE’ and related combinations without any authorisation. This practice allowed sponsored links of competing brands to appear in search results when any user searched for the brand Hindware.

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Digital news publishers across the world are reporting a sharp decline in traffic from both search platforms as well as the social media. The traffic erosion has sent jitters across the industry, especially among small publishers most of whom are facing an existential threat.

The trend is also creating concerns among media agencies and advertising ecosystems, which are heavily reliant on digital news publishers for the success of their campaigns.

The shift has been happening in the industry for several years now. Substantial Google algorithm changes post the Covid-19 pandemic started the decline, while the growth of Generative Artificial Intelligence platforms accelerated it.

The user search behaviour is now changing, with the tilt now being towards AI platforms like ChatGPT and Google Gemini instead of the traditional Google search.

That the content discovery, distribution and audience behaviour is undergoing a fundamental shift was clearly visible from the latest Press Gazette-Similarweb April 2026 data that showed a substantial decline for Indian publishers.

While Indiatimes, ranked number 5 on the list, witnessed a 8% year-on-year decline in visits in April 2026, Hindustan Times – ranked no 16 – lost half of its traffic over a period on one year. The traffic of Zee group’s India.com website crashed 66% over the same period.

India Communication Forum’s Deepak Nagpal spoke to a few digital editors to understand the whether the traditional digital news publishing and distribution model is now broken, and what is it that the publishers can do to deal with the challenge.

Vertika Kanaujia, Editor Operations, Financial Express, said much of the change can be attributed to the fact that Google now wants to be a destination for the users, and no longer play the role of just being an intermediary.

“For decades, Google had become the primary source of user acquisition and revenue generation for media organisations, big and small. Websites across the world have relied on users’ habit to ‘Google’ news and views to get views on their content. All that has now changed as Google no longer wants to be an intermediary but the final destination,” said Vertika.

She believes that the publishers have no choice left but to connect directly with their loyal users to stay relevant.

“Media houses are now working towards finding a model with ‘Google Zero’ reality after the platform announced AI-centric announcements. There are no immediate success models that have been identified, but building a core audience that either finds the brand beyond Google or visits it on a regular basis. Hence, building direct, loyal users is the publishers’ main objective,” she added.

Vertika views videos as a strong monetisation category as the text-based content fatigue has led to a lower interest in news coverage on websites.

Tarun Bhardwaj, Digital Editor, Outlook Money, didn’t mince his words and stated that the traditional model is now completely broken.

“The days of pre-Covid or pre-AI SEO writing are over. News websites need to target AI searches or integrate AI in their websites itself,” Bhardwaj told ICF.

Asked whether the digital news industry made a mistake by relying too much on Big Tech platforms for both content distribution and survival, Bhardwaj said they had no other option 10-15 years back.

“In retrospect, it may look like a mistake but realistically, what was the other option in 2010s? Big Tech platforms were and are controlling the digital space unless we create a separate ecosystem like in China, which in turn is controlled by the government. There will always be control. Days of free media is over,” he stated.

Vertika accepted the industry’s mistake, saying the digital media business model built no direct relationship with the audience and depended heavily on a third party to deliver the content.

“Suddenly, that third party removed the rug and flipped everyone over,” she said, adding, “Those who invested in building a user base and diversifying the content beyond Google even before the Google pivot are in a more comfortable position today.”

Vertika also had a warning for publishers which had failed to invest in long-term content building during the “easy Google money days”.

“With its new AI pivot, Google is aggressively looking at locking users into a ‘zero-click loop’. With content fatigue, publishers that are over-reliant on any one platform are going to suffer the most,” she stated.

Bhardwaj agreed with the view and said: “News in text form has been hijacked by AI for now. The option left is to bypass AI via multimedia.”

How the digital news ecosystem in India navigates the shifting patterns in content distribution and consumption will be viewed with much interest in the months and years to come, but one verdict seems clear: the industry will have to evolve at a faster pace than it has ever before if it has to meaningfully tackle the challenges posed by an evolving Google and advancements in artificial intelligence.

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In a landmark judgement, the Delhi High Court has fined Google Rs 30 lakh for permitting the trademark ‘Hindware’ to be used as a keyword on its Google Ads platform. The keyword was used by rival firms without permission from the sanitaryware major.

In the verdict, Justice Mini Pushkarna ruled that Google had violated Indian laws by allowing the use of a trademark as a keyword, amounting to trademark infringement. The court quashed Google’s argument that it was only an intermediary in the case.

“The present issues are decided in favour of the plaintiff (Hindware) and against the defendants (Google),” the court said, as per reports.

What was the case about?

Hindware owner HSIL Ltd had moved the court alleging that Google was allowing its rival companies to purchase the keyword ‘Hindware’ on the Google Ads platform to appear prominently in search results. Web developer Omkara Infoweb was also named in the case by HSIL Ltd.

The sanitary major alleged that when users searched for the company Hindware on Google, advertisements from rivals like Cera Sanitaryware and Grohe appeared on top as they had purchased the keyword by the same name from Google.

Keywords are hidden at the frontend, and these terms help guide search results according to user intent.

Hindware argued that while the users’ intent was to search for products of the Hindware brand, the search results promoted its rivals, thereby causing business loss.

Hindware further pointed out during the course of the case that the trademark has been in use since 1991.

While companies like Cera and Grohe later settled the matter with Hindware, the court proceeded with the allegations against Google to settle whether the tech major was responsible for permitting the use of trademarked names as advertising keywords.

What the High Court said

The court rejected Google’s defence that keywords cannot be seen by users and that they only work in the background. It further noted that Google was not a passive platform and was very much involved in the marketing of the keyword by putting it on sale, adding it to auctions and by monetising traffic generated through the search keyword.

The High Court directed Google not to allow the use of terms such as HINDWARE, HINDWARE SANITARY, HINDWARE SANITARYWARE and HINDWARE SANITARYWARE INDIA as keywords in advertisements on its Google Ads platform.

The ruling in the case has wider implications for the online advertising industry in India as well, as it hits at the core of the practice of trademark bidding in performance marketing. The consequences will especially be felt by brands that rely on competitors’ keywords to target customers.

It could also open a Pandora’s Box and lead to disputes involving digital advertising practices.

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