Tag: Punitha Arumugam

  • EMVIE Awards turn 25 with a grand celebration of advertising brilliance

    EMVIE Awards turn 25 with a grand celebration of advertising brilliance

    MUMBAI- Mumbai’s advertising elite gathered under one roof as The Advertising Club marked a spectacular 25 years of the EMVIE Awards, widely regarded as the Oscars of the media world. The milestone edition, held at the Jio World Convention Centre on 28 March 2025, celebrated the finest in media strategy, innovation, and brand storytelling, honouring industry leaders who have redefined the advertising landscape.

    With an unprecedented 1,779 entries from 33 agencies, a record-breaking feat, the competition was fierce, culminating in 443 shortlisted campaigns. The night saw a grand total of 191 winners, including 1 Grand EMVIE, 46 gold, 71 silver, and 73 bronze trophies.

    Best Media Agency of the Year 2025 - Wavemaker India

    Wavemaker India dominated the night, clinching the title of Best Media Agency of the Year with 665 points, while Mondelez India Foods Pvt. Ltd. took home Best Media Client of the Year with 380 points.

    The coveted Grand EMVIE was awarded to Initiative Media (India) Private Limited for their innovative use of AI-driven interactive storytelling for Amazon Prime Video’s Mirzapur, bagging the trophy in the Best Media Innovation: Best Use of AI for a Media Solution category.

    Other big winners included Mindshare India, finishing second with 570 points, and Essencemediacom, securing third place with 275 points.

    The EMVIE for Diversity, Equality & Inclusion (DE&I) was awarded to Interactive Avenues for their impactful campaign ‘Ek Macchhli Paani Mein Gayi’ for Chhanv Foundation, shedding light on the resilience of acid attack survivors.

    The Young EMVIE of the Year went to Navneet Kabra from Wavemaker India, who crafted a winning hand for Cadbury 5 Star & Cadbury Celebrations with ‘The Joker Who Got Cadbury the Winning Hand’.

    Havas India, group CEO for South East, and North Asia & and The Advertising Club, president Rana Barua, said, “As we celebrate 25 years of the EMVIES, it’s a moment to acknowledge how these awards have become a true reflection of our industry’s relentless pursuit of innovation, creativity, and excellence. The EMVIES have consistently evolved to capture the spirit of transformative storytelling and the power of effective media strategies. This milestone is a tribute to the passion and dedication of media professionals who continue to raise the bar with their groundbreaking work. Congratulations to all the winners of the 2025 EMVIE Awards — your achievements are an inspiration, driving our industry forward. Here’s to the next 25 years of pushing boundaries and setting new benchmarks.”

    EMVIES Committee chairperson Punitha Arumugam said, “The EMVIES have played a crucial role in shaping India’s media landscape by setting new benchmarks in effectiveness and innovation. As we mark 25 years of this incredible journey, we recognize the immense talent, creativity, and strategic brilliance that elevate industry standards. This year’s winners exemplify the best of what media can achieve when insights, strategy, and technology come together.”

    With support from The Times of India & UltraTech Cement Limited, the EMVIE Awards 2025 once again proved why they remain the gold standard of advertising recognition. As the industry looks ahead, the only thing certain is that the future of media will be bold, boundary-breaking, and built on brilliance.

  • Rana Barua re-elected president of The Advertising Club for second term

    Rana Barua re-elected president of The Advertising Club for second term

    Mumbai: The Advertising, marketing and media industry’s apex body – The Advertising Club has announced the managing committee for the current fiscal, i.e., F.Y. 2024-2025, at its 70th annual general meeting. Rana Barua, Group CEO, Havas India, South East & North Asia (Japan & South Korea) Havas Group – India has been re-elected to lead the body.

    Speaking about the appointment, The Advertising Club president Rana Barua said, “I am truly honoured to lead the prestigious Advertising Club for a second term. This past year has been an enriching journey, marked by significant milestones in a dynamic, ever-evolving industry. Together with my esteemed committee, we have made remarkable strides, and I look forward to building on this momentum in the year ahead with a fresh team and ambitious goals.”

    The below members were elected unopposed. The Office Bearers of The Advertising Club for 2024-2025 are –

    . Rana Barua – president

    . Dheeraj Sinha – vice president

    . Dr. Bhaskar Das – secretary

    . Punitha Arumugam – Jt. secretary

    .  Mitrajit Bhattacharya – treasurer

    Managing Committee Members include the below industry leaders who will play a decisive role in driving synergies and ensuring the success of all The Advertising Club initiatives:

    .  Avinash Kaul

    .  Malcolm Raphael

    .  Prasanth Kumar

    .  Mansha Tandon

    .  Ajay Kakar

    .  Sonia Huria

    .  Subramanyeswar S.

    In addition, given below is the list of co-opted industry professionals:

    .   Mayur Hola

    .  Pradeep Dwivedi

    .  Sagnik Ghosh

    The below list of leaders are special invitees and bring immense value to The Advertising Club through their expertise and deep understanding of the respective industry segments:

    . Ajay Chandwani

    . Alok Lall

    .  Amitesh Rao

    .  Lulu Raghavan

    .  Ashit Kukian

    .  Raj Nayak

    .  Satyanarayan Raghavan

    .  Vikas Khanchandani

    .  Vaishali Verma

    Partha Sinha will continue as a member of the managing committee as the Immediate Past President for the ensuing year.
     

  • The Advertising Club’s EMVIES to be held on 22 March 2024

    The Advertising Club’s EMVIES to be held on 22 March 2024

    Mumbai: The Advertising Club gears up to host the latest edition of the EMVIES, widely recognized as the Oscars of the media world that recognizes brand innovators and thought leaders for their pioneering brand and media strategies. With a total of 1892 entries received, EMVIES 2024 will take place on Friday 22 March 2024, at Jio World Convention Centre Mumbai, at 6:30 PM.

    The country’s most coveted media award which focuses on Innovation, Strategy, Research, and seamless Integration, EMVIES 2024, has been adjudged by a distinguished jury of media professionals from across the country. Out of 1892 entries received, 471 were shortlisted. The final round of judging was evaluated by seasoned marketing professionals and select creative directors. Emerging as a gold standard amongst media awards, the EMVIES 2024 has over the years grown in scale and strength.

    For the first time, the Grand EMVIE was judged by a high-power jury comprising names such as Amit Singhal, Santosh Desai, Agnello Dias, Anil Vishwanath, and Avinash Kaul.  

    Havas India Group CEO of South East, and North Asia, and president of The Advertising Club Rana Barua, said, “At The Advertising Club, we take immense pride in promoting excellence in the field of Advertising, Media, and Marketing and the EMVIES is a testament to our continuous effort. I’d like to express my gratitude to the jury for giving their precious time, and to the media agencies and brands for demonstrating strong ideas to foster growth of the Advertising, Media, and Marketing industry.”

    EMVIES Committee chairperson  Punitha Arumugam said, “The increase in the number of entries for EMVIES 2024 underlines the industry’s unwavering commitment to pushing boundaries. We are delighted to recognize the dedication and strategic brilliance reflected in these entries. It has always been our endeavour to celebrate groundbreaking media campaigns that have significantly contributed towards building resonance for brands.”

    The vibrant, young, and high-decibel EMVIES is attended by professionals from the Media, Advertising, Research, and Marketing fraternity.

    It’s time to book your donor passes and see for yourself who takes home the Grand EMVIE, Best Media Client of the Year, and Best Media Agency of the Year.

  • Punitha Arumugam joins Hotstar as platform evangelist

    Punitha Arumugam joins Hotstar as platform evangelist

    MUMBAI: Hotstar has appointed Punitha Arumugam as platform evangelist, with the mandate to showcase the power of the platform to India’s leading brands.

    The appointment is amongst Hotstar’s several initiatives to spur an increasing shift in marketing focus towards platforms with high quality content and engaged audiences. 

    Hotstar has increasingly raised the pressure on Google and Facebook, especially in an environment where many leading multinational brands have raised questions on the quality and safety of content on open platforms against which their ads are placed.

    Hotstar CEO Ajit Mohan said, “Punitha is a leader in digital who has a fantastic track record of having aided the creation of many agency and brand partnerships in India and around the region. Hotstar is a special place for brands. We are delighted that she is coming on board to help us introduce the unique power of Hotstar to marketers around the country.”

    Arumugam added, “Hotstar is one of the few video platforms in the world that has tremendous scale, very engaged audiences and remains open to advertisers. I believe the world of marketing is evolving quite rapidly, and Hotstar has the unique ability to marry the scale and engagement of television, with the power of audience understanding that digital brings. This is what brands have been waiting for, and I am delighted to play a role in shaping the next phase of the industry’s evolution.”

    Arumugam, a media agency veteran, known for her leadership at Madison Media as group CEO for over 13 years, and at Google as agency director for over five years, is seen as a leader who shaped many agencies’ and marketers’ increasing use of digital platforms for brand building. At Google, she led the organisation’s agency business, first from India and later for the region from Singapore, as managing director, APAC agency for Google APAC. She is currently setting up her own firm in the communications tech space.

    Her career spans over 20 years of media. She is widely acknowledged as the driving force behind Madison’s transformation to the second largest media agency in India and is credited for building a buoyant agency business for Google in India and Asia Pacific.

    She will be operating from Mumbai for her role at Hotstar.

  • Mindshare, Wavemaker retain respective titles at EMVIEs, Star India and Vodafone become ‘Clients of the Year’

    Mindshare, Wavemaker retain respective titles at EMVIEs, Star India and Vodafone become ‘Clients of the Year’

    MUMBAI: The 17th edition of EMVIEs concluded with a fanfare on a Friday evening and saw the best of industry stalwarts and visionaries come together to celebrate the industry’s success.

    Mindshare India triumphed with ‘Media agency of the year’ award yet again for the third consecutive year with a total of 265 points. Wavemaker, previously known as Maxus India, continued to retain its position at number two this year as well with its total amounting to 235 points. 

    Rejoicing on the win, Mindshare India head of content at Devendra Deshpande said, “We feel at top of the world with this win although we were skeptical about winning agency of the year award this year. To propel our growth further, we will continue to use data, technology and creativity together and it will always be based on business challenge and consumer insights.”

    public://CLIENT OF THE YEAR _STAR INDIA.JPG

    Both, Star India and Vodafone India emerged as clients of the year with a grand total of 80 points. Hindustan Unilever Limited, that has been the champion for four consecutive years from 2013-2016, settled at number two position this year with a grand total of 75 and missed the mark with only five points.

    The Grand EMVIE for the ‘Best media innovation in Digital Search’ was awarded to Madison Media and Asian Paints for their campaign on Hindi search ads for the first time in India.

    Adjudged by a distinguished jury of around 211 industry leaders, EMVIEs saw over 816 entries this year. With over 816 entries, the awards have continued to grow in scale and strength, emerging as the gold standard amongst media awards recognising path-breaking brand campaigns and innovations. 

    public://CLIENT OF THE YEAR_VODAFONE.JPG

    EMVIEs 2017 awards chairman Punitha Arumugam said, “India has been at the forefront of many ingenious campaigns that showcase high effectiveness and the EMVIEs remain committed to recognising such outstanding communication stories.”

    The Advertising Club president Vikram Sakhuja said, “We are engaging with some top global content sites to showcase the best of our archives to the world.”

    Read the entire EMVIE 2017 Client of the year tally

    Read the entire EMVIEs 2017 Agency of the year tally

  • Mindshare and HUL partnership dominate Emvies 2016

    Mindshare and HUL partnership dominate Emvies 2016

    MUMBAI: The Hindustan Unilever and GroupM’s Mindshare India partnership has proved  to be as good as gold – yet again.

    For the second year in succession, the WPP group outfit walked away with the Agency of the year Emvies award  with a solid unbeatable 395 points in its bag.  That was courtesy the eight gold, 18 silver and  fifteen bronze metals it pocketed.

    There are no prizes for guessing who the client of the year was: Hindustan Unilever.

    With seven bronze, fifteen silvers and 11 golds, Hindustan Unilever maintained a massive lead over everyone else with its 310 point tally.

    Straggling several laps behind was PepsiCo with just 75 points; yes, that’s how one sided Emvies 2016  results were. But to Pepsico’s credit, it along with GroupM, snared the  grand Emvie for Best Integrated Campaign in Consumer Products :  ‘when consumers became co marketers.’

    Surprisingly, Mindshare did not take its Emvie wins lightly, considering the fact that it had already bagged the  Cannes Lions 2016 Grand Prix  with its work on Brooke Bond Red Label  Six Pack Band. Theirs were  the loudest cheers heard during the evening.

     

    http://www.indiantelevision.com/sites/drupal7.indiantelevision.co.in/files/styles/large/public/smallGrand%20EMVIE_0.jpg?itok=ntC7c30a
    The Pepsico-Mindshare combine pocketed the Grand Emvie

    If one were to go by metal tally, the second best media agency at Emvies 2016 was Lodestar UM with six gold, three silver statuettes and three bronze. Its point tally: a pale 135.

    The third placed agency – though it tied with Lodestar on the points tally of 135 – was Maxus with four gold, five silver and five bronze.

    Commenting on the wins Mindshare south Asia CEO Prasanth Kumar said:  “The awards are a direct result of the effort and hard work put in by each and everyone in the team. We at Mindshare believe in recognizing our employees’ skills and commitment, which is further driven to a level of aspiration that leads to rewarding experiences such as the Emvies. Winning these awards by such a large margin is not only a testimony to our accomplishments so far, but also significantly adds to the quality of service we intend to deliver. Creating ground-breaking innovations and strategies has been Mindshare’s forte and this has kept us at the forefront in the industry.”

    Added  GroupM south Asia CEO CVL Srinivas:  “GroupM agencies have had a dream run at the Emvies this year like most other years. I must first of all congratulate our clients who push us to keep raising the bar year after year. Clients who believe in innovation and back our teams to take risks are the ones who win and in turn help us win. Our teams have worked very hard to keep delivering client delight year after year. We have a strong HR and Talent management culture at GroupM and on days like this we realize how important it is to keep the focus on talent development.”

     

    http://www.indiantelevision.com/sites/drupal7.indiantelevision.co.in/files/styles/large/public/smallEMVIES_Media%20Client%20of%20the%20Year_1.jpg?itok=_UemaW0h

    Hindustan Lever walked away with the client of the year Emvie

     “In today’s day and age of extensive media exposure, the greatest challenge is to create clutter breaking communication that is impactful, optimal and delivers the brand message,” exclaimed Emvies committee chairperson Punitha Arumugam. “ As always this year too at the EMVIES we have seen works by media agencies that have not only been pioneering and engaging but also helped change mindsets and helped drive resonance for the brand.”

     “The response to EMVIES this year have been the highest ever with record number of entries clearly indicative of popularity of the awards,” pointed out EMVIES Committee co-Chairperson Vikas Khanchandani, “The works entered has been extremely encouraging and impactful showcasing the changing dynamics of both clients and agencies towards curating campaigns through content to deliver ROI, outreach and execution scale.”

    In his welcome address,  The Advertising Club President Raj Nayak said “In its 16th year. The EMVIES has grown from strength to strength and this year has established a new record in the number of entries. With a jury consisting of over 225 media professionals and clients with judging held across Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi, this has been a mammoth exercise in making the process transparent.”

  • Mindshare and HUL partnership dominate Emvies 2016

    Mindshare and HUL partnership dominate Emvies 2016

    MUMBAI: The Hindustan Unilever and GroupM’s Mindshare India partnership has proved  to be as good as gold – yet again.

    For the second year in succession, the WPP group outfit walked away with the Agency of the year Emvies award  with a solid unbeatable 395 points in its bag.  That was courtesy the eight gold, 18 silver and  fifteen bronze metals it pocketed.

    There are no prizes for guessing who the client of the year was: Hindustan Unilever.

    With seven bronze, fifteen silvers and 11 golds, Hindustan Unilever maintained a massive lead over everyone else with its 310 point tally.

    Straggling several laps behind was PepsiCo with just 75 points; yes, that’s how one sided Emvies 2016  results were. But to Pepsico’s credit, it along with GroupM, snared the  grand Emvie for Best Integrated Campaign in Consumer Products :  ‘when consumers became co marketers.’

    Surprisingly, Mindshare did not take its Emvie wins lightly, considering the fact that it had already bagged the  Cannes Lions 2016 Grand Prix  with its work on Brooke Bond Red Label  Six Pack Band. Theirs were  the loudest cheers heard during the evening.

     

    http://www.indiantelevision.com/sites/drupal7.indiantelevision.co.in/files/styles/large/public/smallGrand%20EMVIE_0.jpg?itok=ntC7c30a
    The Pepsico-Mindshare combine pocketed the Grand Emvie

    If one were to go by metal tally, the second best media agency at Emvies 2016 was Lodestar UM with six gold, three silver statuettes and three bronze. Its point tally: a pale 135.

    The third placed agency – though it tied with Lodestar on the points tally of 135 – was Maxus with four gold, five silver and five bronze.

    Commenting on the wins Mindshare south Asia CEO Prasanth Kumar said:  “The awards are a direct result of the effort and hard work put in by each and everyone in the team. We at Mindshare believe in recognizing our employees’ skills and commitment, which is further driven to a level of aspiration that leads to rewarding experiences such as the Emvies. Winning these awards by such a large margin is not only a testimony to our accomplishments so far, but also significantly adds to the quality of service we intend to deliver. Creating ground-breaking innovations and strategies has been Mindshare’s forte and this has kept us at the forefront in the industry.”

    Added  GroupM south Asia CEO CVL Srinivas:  “GroupM agencies have had a dream run at the Emvies this year like most other years. I must first of all congratulate our clients who push us to keep raising the bar year after year. Clients who believe in innovation and back our teams to take risks are the ones who win and in turn help us win. Our teams have worked very hard to keep delivering client delight year after year. We have a strong HR and Talent management culture at GroupM and on days like this we realize how important it is to keep the focus on talent development.”

     

    http://www.indiantelevision.com/sites/drupal7.indiantelevision.co.in/files/styles/large/public/smallEMVIES_Media%20Client%20of%20the%20Year_1.jpg?itok=_UemaW0h

    Hindustan Lever walked away with the client of the year Emvie

     “In today’s day and age of extensive media exposure, the greatest challenge is to create clutter breaking communication that is impactful, optimal and delivers the brand message,” exclaimed Emvies committee chairperson Punitha Arumugam. “ As always this year too at the EMVIES we have seen works by media agencies that have not only been pioneering and engaging but also helped change mindsets and helped drive resonance for the brand.”

     “The response to EMVIES this year have been the highest ever with record number of entries clearly indicative of popularity of the awards,” pointed out EMVIES Committee co-Chairperson Vikas Khanchandani, “The works entered has been extremely encouraging and impactful showcasing the changing dynamics of both clients and agencies towards curating campaigns through content to deliver ROI, outreach and execution scale.”

    In his welcome address,  The Advertising Club President Raj Nayak said “In its 16th year. The EMVIES has grown from strength to strength and this year has established a new record in the number of entries. With a jury consisting of over 225 media professionals and clients with judging held across Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi, this has been a mammoth exercise in making the process transparent.”

  • ZenithOptimedia and Google present Zoogle Day

    ZenithOptimedia and Google present Zoogle Day

    MUMBAI: ZenithOptimedia Group and Google have partnered to present Zoogle Day, a first of its kind event on digital and mobile marketing on 4 February 2016in Gurgaon.

    The ZenithOptimedia leadership, along with top executives from Google will share learnings, insights and case studies where brands have taken the lead in a mobile inevitable world. Some of the subjects that the summit will focus on includes how mobile commerce is shaping up sectors such as banking insurance and telecom, how data driven planning driving programmatic,  top trends in ecommerce, the success story of Alibaba and other future-facing business models that are reaping the benefits of a digital economy.

    The conference will also have a key address by Performics Worldwide COO Craig Greenfield. Since 2005, Craig Greenfield’s expertise in scaling large client programs and developing company-wide processes and this has helped Performics successfully transition into the first truly global performance marketing agency. In his current position, Craig leads global technology and innovation; a dynamic network of change agents focused on identifying, evaluating and developing new products, services and systems to ensure competitiveness and improved operational efficiency.

    Craig works in tandem with Performics’s worldwide leadership, client teams and external partners to help clients identify and capture new business opportunities, negotiate strategic partnerships and enhance operational efficiency.

    ZenithOptimedia Group CEO Anupriya Acharya says, “ZenithOptimedia and Google host Zoogle Day in many top markets around the world and we are very excited to bring this premier event to India. Given the way mobile is increasingly shaping consumer behavior and commerce, we felt this is an opportune time for us to hold this event. Both ZenithOptimedia and Google are leaders in mobile marketing and have valuable lessons and insights to share on the transformation that India is witnessing.”

    Performics and Resultrix managing director Tanmay Mohanty says, “We share a long fulfilling relationship with Google and this event cements this relationship further. They, like us, are driven by the Live ROI philosophy, and have unique data driven insights that help clients derive sizeable share.”

    Mohanty added that the ZenithOptimedia Group has been on a growth curve. “Digital, particularly mobile has been top priority for us. The launch of Performics Mobile in 2014, setup of a media technology and analytics division in Bangalore last year, and creating Centre of Excellence teams out of Mumbai and Delhi, all help us augment our efforts on Mobile. Zoogle Day is another move in the same direction, in partnership with one of our most significant partners.”

    Punitha Arumugam – Director Agency Business India and SEA, Google says “With an estimated 5mn smartphone users being added very month, India’s online populations is expected to cross 500MN by 2018. The Zoogle day chapter we are extending to India is tailored to this reality and will address the mobile and commerce future of this market. “

  • ZenithOptimedia and Google present Zoogle Day

    ZenithOptimedia and Google present Zoogle Day

    MUMBAI: ZenithOptimedia Group and Google have partnered to present Zoogle Day, a first of its kind event on digital and mobile marketing on 4 February 2016in Gurgaon.

    The ZenithOptimedia leadership, along with top executives from Google will share learnings, insights and case studies where brands have taken the lead in a mobile inevitable world. Some of the subjects that the summit will focus on includes how mobile commerce is shaping up sectors such as banking insurance and telecom, how data driven planning driving programmatic,  top trends in ecommerce, the success story of Alibaba and other future-facing business models that are reaping the benefits of a digital economy.

    The conference will also have a key address by Performics Worldwide COO Craig Greenfield. Since 2005, Craig Greenfield’s expertise in scaling large client programs and developing company-wide processes and this has helped Performics successfully transition into the first truly global performance marketing agency. In his current position, Craig leads global technology and innovation; a dynamic network of change agents focused on identifying, evaluating and developing new products, services and systems to ensure competitiveness and improved operational efficiency.

    Craig works in tandem with Performics’s worldwide leadership, client teams and external partners to help clients identify and capture new business opportunities, negotiate strategic partnerships and enhance operational efficiency.

    ZenithOptimedia Group CEO Anupriya Acharya says, “ZenithOptimedia and Google host Zoogle Day in many top markets around the world and we are very excited to bring this premier event to India. Given the way mobile is increasingly shaping consumer behavior and commerce, we felt this is an opportune time for us to hold this event. Both ZenithOptimedia and Google are leaders in mobile marketing and have valuable lessons and insights to share on the transformation that India is witnessing.”

    Performics and Resultrix managing director Tanmay Mohanty says, “We share a long fulfilling relationship with Google and this event cements this relationship further. They, like us, are driven by the Live ROI philosophy, and have unique data driven insights that help clients derive sizeable share.”

    Mohanty added that the ZenithOptimedia Group has been on a growth curve. “Digital, particularly mobile has been top priority for us. The launch of Performics Mobile in 2014, setup of a media technology and analytics division in Bangalore last year, and creating Centre of Excellence teams out of Mumbai and Delhi, all help us augment our efforts on Mobile. Zoogle Day is another move in the same direction, in partnership with one of our most significant partners.”

    Punitha Arumugam – Director Agency Business India and SEA, Google says “With an estimated 5mn smartphone users being added very month, India’s online populations is expected to cross 500MN by 2018. The Zoogle day chapter we are extending to India is tailored to this reality and will address the mobile and commerce future of this market. “

  • Punitha bids adieu to Madison, to join Google

    Punitha bids adieu to Madison, to join Google

    MUMBAI: Madison Media group CEO Punitha Arumugam has decided to move on after a 13-year stint with the company.

    Arumugam will be joining Google as VP-agency and advertiser relations soon.

    A highly placed source has confirmed the development to Indiantelevision.com. “Sam (Balsara, chairman and MD of Madison World) has sent the mail today telling us about Punitha’s leaving the company,” the executive said on condition of anonymity.

    Arumugam will be serving her notice period till March. She had joined Madison in January 1999 as media services director and then moved up to become COO in 2001.

    She was named as chief executive officer of Madison Media West in 2003.

    At Madison, she handled clients like Kinetic, the Essel Group, P&G, Godrej and BPL.

    Prior to Madison, she has also worked with O&M and Lintas Chennai/Bangalore.

    Arumugam was unavailable for comment till the filing of this report.