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Tag: Abanti Sankaranarayanan

  • D. Shivakumar elected new chairman of ASCI

    D. Shivakumar elected new chairman of ASCI

    MUMBAI: The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has appointed D. Shivakumar as the new chairman of the board for ASCI. 

    Shivakumar is the group executive president of corporate strategy at Aditya Birla Group.

    As the member of the board of governors for three years, supporting self-regulation, Shivakumar is an accomplished business leader having spent over 19 years in sales, marketing and general management positions across consumer products and the luxury industry.

    Sony Pictures Networks India President of network sales and international business Rohit Gupta has been elected as the vice-chairman while Media Brands CEO Shashidhar Sinha has been re-appointed as the honorary treasurer.

    Members of the Board of Governors include Harish Bhat (director, Tata Global Beverages.), Subhash Kamath (Managing Partner, BBH Communications India), Sandeep Kohli (executive director and vice president for personal care Hindustan Unilever Ltd), Prof S.K. Palekar (adjunct professor and advisor – Executive Education Institute of Management Technology), .S.  Rajan (managing director, Ketchum Sampark), K.V. Sridhar (founder and chief creative officer Hyper Collective Creative Technologies), Abanti Sankaranarayanan (former vice chairperson, CIABC), Girish Agarwal (director, Dainik Bhaskar Group), Madhusudan Gopalan (CEO, Procter & Gamble Hygiene and Health Care), Prasun Basu (president – South Asia Nielsen India), Sivakumar Sundaram (president- revenue Bennett, Coleman & Co), Vikas Agnihotri (director sales, Google India) and Umesh Shrikhande (CEO, Taproot India).

    The outgoing chairman of ASCI Abanti Sankaranarayanan said, “2017-18 has been another strong year for ASCI as we have made significant advancements towards building our organizational muscle, external credibility and strong collaborations. Our stringent guidelines, seamless processes and the dedication and hardwork of our Consumer Complaints Council have contributed to restricting the use of misleading advertisements and enhance self regulation. ASCI’s momentous achievements for the year include successful completion of three year-long collaboration with Department of Consumer Affairs, renewal of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Food Safety Standards Authority of India, introduction of “Guidelines for Celebrities in Advertising” and inclusion in AYUSH’s Empowered Committee to control misleading ads of AYUSH drugs. As the Chairman for ASCI for the year 2017-18,I am extremely proud to be a part of this journey and I am confident that under Shivakumar’s Chairmanship ASCI will continue to grow swiftly and steadily.”

    The incoming chairman, D. Shivakumar said, “I want to thank Abanti for her stewardship. We live in changing times with respect to information, media and trust of society. ASCI has been built on the foundation of self-regulation and the wisdom of the previous chairmen and the board. It’s my privilege to do the role now”.

    The Consumer Complaints Council (CCC) established by ASCI is an independent body (majority of its members drawn from civil society members like consumer activists, lawyers, doctors, educationists), the CCC met 47 times during the year and deliberated on complaints against 2641 advertisements. Complaints against 1177 advertisements were upheld, while for 483 they were not upheld. The significant increase in the number of complaints as compared to 2016-17 numbers (2300) is largely due to ASCI’s Suo Moto Monitoring project viz. National Advertisement Monitoring Services (NAMS). The Independent Review Process (IRP) received a very favourable response and 30 IRPs were conducted during this year.

  • ASCI part of AYUSH committee to control misleading ads

    ASCI part of AYUSH committee to control misleading ads

    MUMBAI: In a pre-emptive step, the Ayurveda, yoga and naturopathy, Unani, siddha and homoeopathy (AYUSH) ministry has constituted a committee to control misleading advertisements and exaggerated claims of AYUSH drugs. 

    The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) is the only non-government member in the empowered committee of seven members comprising the AYUSH ministry, health and family welfare and the department of consumer affairs representatives. 

    The constituted committee will be empowered to review and monitor the implementation of the provisions of The Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisement) Act, 1954 and rules thereunder for curbing misleading advertisements of AYUSH drugs. 

    The committee will be authorised to make recommendations for regulatory action against misleading advertisements and advise the central government for issuing any specific direction or advisory and for taking the necessary steps. The committee will also be responsible for reviewing the actions taken by the states and the pharmaceutical vigilance centres for surveillance and control of misleading advertisements of AYUH drugs.

    ASCI chairman Abanti Sankaranarayanan said, “ASCI has been closely working with the ministry to ensure that Indian consumers are not exposed to false information and have access to safe drugs. We are confident that the new committee will act as a catalyst to the process of self-regulation in advertising, thus safeguarding consumers from deceptive advertisements that can negatively impact them.”

    The meeting of the constituted committee will be convened every six months or as and when required to review progress and make recommendations to accomplish its objective of controlling misleading advertisements.

    Established in 1985, ASCI seeks to ensure that advertisements conform to its code for self-regulation, which requires advertisements to be legal, decent, honest and truthful and not hazardous or harmful while observing fairness in competition. The council looks into complaints across all media, including print, TV, radio and hoardings.

  • ASCI shall continue efforts towards fairness in ads, says new chairman Abanti Sankaranarayanan

    ASCI shall continue efforts towards fairness in ads, says new chairman Abanti Sankaranarayanan

    MUMBAI: At the board meeting of The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) held after the AGM on Thursday, the former vice-chairman of Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies (CIABC) Abanti Sankaranarayanan was unanimously elected as the chairman of the board of ASCI.

    Sankaranarayanan, who is also the chief strategy and corporate affairs officer at Diageo India, and member of its executive committee, said, “It’s heartening to see ASCI’s relentless efforts being recognised by the judicial body, regulators and government bodies and we shall take all efforts to continue to keep it so.”

    She added: “Core to ASCI’s mission to ensure protection of the interests of consumers, through supporting fairness in advertising, ASCI shall carry on to keep true with its consumer focused tagline, “So you can trust advertising.”

  • NDTV and Diageo launches second season of Road to Safety campaign

    NDTV and Diageo launches second season of Road to Safety campaign

    MUMBAI: After a successful launch, United Spirits-NDTV Road to Safety, a Diageo initiative returns in its second year to address one of the biggest concerns for the Indian government and society today the appalling state of road safety in our country.  Last year, to make India’s roads safer, a 7-point road safety agenda was presented to the government. The agenda covered a lot of aspects ranging from the laws that need amendment to the traffic police force that needs training.

     

    This year too, the campaign attempts to address this issue by encouraging citizens to take a pledge to never drink and drive. As a part of this initiative, in conjunction with the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways a special talk show was hosted with the honorable Minister of road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari at the Gateway of India, Mumbai.

     

    Union Minster for Road Transport & Highways, Nitin Gadkari stressed on the importance of making airbags mandatory in every type of car. It is the primary duty of the government to establish measures to protect the life of people irrespective of caste or creed. He further highlighted the significance of having a scientific process of issuing licenses. 30% of driving licenses are bogus. He promised to open 3000 centers in the country for driving and fitness measurement in order to procure those licenses He also requested people to identify accident prone areas on highways and report them on the government website. There are a total of 726 accident and black spots in the country. The government is investing 11,000 crores to improve the condition of these spots and working in the right direction to make Indian roads safer.

     

    In its second season, United Spirits-NDTV Road to Safety, a Diageo Initiative, a social campaign attempts to make our roads safer and reduce the number of ‘preventable accidents’ by encouraging citizens to demonstrate more responsible behavior behind the wheel. While lack of awareness, bad road designs, poor maintenance of roads is definitely a part of the problem, a majority of the accidents are a result of drunken driving too.

     

    This year, the event was attended by some of the country’s leading experts, policy makers, and NGO’s to highlight local issues, agendas and recommendations for the road ahead. 

     

    Speaking about this landmark initiative, United Spirits Ltd. business head luxury vertical and corporate relations Abanti Sankaranarayanan said, “The United Spirits-Diageo ‘Road to Safety’ initiative aims to create the necessary impact to address the abysmal state of road safety in our country. In collaboration with local and national partners – the government, civil society, individuals, families, and the industry; we aim to take Phase-II of the programme to greater heights by encouraging more people to drink responsibly and put safety first.”

  • United Spirits appoints Abanti Sankaranarayanan as business head

    United Spirits appoints Abanti Sankaranarayanan as business head

    MUMBAI: Spirits company United Spirits Limited (USL), a subsidiary of Diageo, has roped in Abanti Sankaranarayanan as business head for luxury and corporate relations, India.

     

    With this move, Sankaranarayanan joins the executive committee of USL. With over 20 years in the consumer industry, she has been managing director of Diageo India since July 2012, leading Diageo’s business mandate for international spirits in India. Under her leadership, Diageo’s brand portfolio in India delivered strong double-digit growth and high market share gains coupled with robust equity results.

     

    USL MD & CEO Anand Kripalu said, “We are delighted to have a leader of Abanti’s talent and global caliber to lead our luxury portfolio and drive our corporate relations efforts in India. Her extensive leadership experience and expertise will add strong momentum to the growth of USL’s business in India.”

     

    A new luxury unit is being set up in USL for the premium brands of the portfolio with the objective of maintaining Diageo’s premium brand leadership. Creating a center of luxury excellence will provide focus behind the fastest growing segment of the Indian alcobev market. The luxury business will encompass Diageo’s iconic brands such as Johnnie Walker, Ciroc and the Single Malts.

     

    In addition, Sankaranarayanan will lead the new corporate relations function that has been set up to drive USL towards strong leadership and execution on public policy, regulatory, tax and trade affairs, alcohol policy, corporate reputation & brand, and sustainability & responsibility.  In this role, Sankaranarayanan will build key stakeholder relationships with regulators, government, industry bodies, NGO partners and relevant members of civil society.

     

    Sankaranarayanan said, “I am delighted to take up this new position at USL as we continue the journey to make USL the most trusted and respected consumer goods company in India.”