Latest news with #Bhandarkar
Time of India
a day ago
- Business
- Time of India
Hashtag Orange hires Ankush Bhandarkar as media director
Integrated marketing agency Hashtag Orange has announced the appointment of Ankush Bhandarkar as its director - media , based out of its Mumbai office. This strategic hire underscores the Gurugram-headquartered agency's commitment to expanding its regional footprint and deepening its media expertise to meet the growing demand for integrated media solutions. Bhandarkar brings over a decade of rich experience in digital marketing, having held significant leadership roles at prominent agencies. His career highlights include serving as Associate Media Director at FoxyMoron, where he managed key accounts such as AO Smith and Vedant Fashions, and earned the 'Digital Rising Star' award for his innovative approach. Prior to that, as an Assistant Manager at iProspect (part of the Dentsu global network), he developed impactful media strategies for major clients like HDFC Bank and PNB MetLife. He also managed comprehensive media strategies for Pidilite during his tenure as a Full-Stack Integrated Media Planner at Madison Media. In his new role, Bhandarkar will lead a growing media team, focusing on delivering impactful, result-driven campaigns for clients. His seasoned perspective and strategic insights are expected to be pivotal in achieving measurable outcomes through data-led planning and optimizing media investments, ensuring alignment with client business goals. A key responsibility will also be to strengthen team capabilities and support Hashtag Orange's broader media expansion with strong, future-ready talent. Ankush Vij, Co-Founder & Vice President - Media, Hashtag Orange, Gurugram, expressed his enthusiasm for the new addition, stating, "We're focused on our long-term vision to deepen media expertise by building an ecosystem of leaders who pair big-picture thinking with operational excellence and precision. Ankush's ability to think strategically while delivering results makes him an ideal fit for where we're headed as an agency." Umeish Shashidharan, Vice President - Media, Hashtag Orange, Mumbai, added, "As audiences evolve, so must media, and that demands agility and insight to meet in the middle. Our aim isn't just to deliver performance, but to drive enduring strategic value. Ankush exemplifies this mindset and we're confident his leadership will help us set new industry standards." Known for his thoughtful and performance-led approach to media, Bhandarkar shared his excitement about joining the team: 'Joining the team at Hashtag Orange allows me to contribute meaningfully to the ever-changing media ecosystem. I'm looking forward to building strategies that deliver impactful outcomes for clients, while also crafting experiences that engage with audiences across regions and platforms.' Bhandarkar's appointment is expected to significantly contribute to Hashtag Orange's ongoing growth and innovation in the integrated marketing landscape.
Time of India
11-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Nagpur ZP retired teachers accuse authorities of delaying pensions
Nagpur: Retired teachers have accused the Nagpur Zilla Parishad (ZP) of delaying payments under the Maharashtra State Government Employees Group Insurance Scheme , 1982, for over five years. The scheme, which was implemented in 1990 for ZP employees and teachers, has become a point of contention due to sudden demands for arrears with compound scheme classifies employees into four groups (A to D) based on their pay scales, with monthly deductions ranging from ₹30 to ₹480. Despite regular deductions from 1990 to 2025 for various teaching positions, the ZP has failed to release the final insurance payouts to hundreds of retired educators, claimed a teachers' association."The situation worsened when the ZP's chief accounts and finance officer instructed block education officers across 13 panchayat samitis to recover arrears from retired teachers, including 12% compound interest calculated over 25 to 30 years. The amounts being demanded range from ₹4,000 to ₹50,000, causing distress among retirees," said Sharad Bhandarkar, general secretary of the MNS Shikshak Shikshak questioned how such an oversight could occur over three decades, especially when salary processing was done through computerized systems with proper departmental approvals. Bhandarkar also claimed that around 400 retired teachers are awaiting gratuity and pension payments totaling approximately ₹60 affected teachers are demanding an investigation into the ZP's administrative departments. Bhandarkar has called for verification of actual records before calculating arrears and suggested adjusting legitimate dues from insurance payouts without applying interest. He also warned that protests would be launched if their demands were not addressed promptly. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Mother's Day wishes , messages , and quotes !
Time of India
03-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
MNS Teachers' Wing Slams Govt Over Delay in Benefits for Retired ZP Staff
Nagpur: Maharashtra Navnirman Shikshak Sena , the teachers' wing of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), has strongly criticised the state government for delaying financial benefits to retired Zilla Parishad (ZP) employees, particularly teachers. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now "The government is releasing funds for new schemes like Ladki Bahin, but retired employees are still waiting for their gratuity and other emoluments," said Sharad Bhandarkar, state secretary of the organisation. He questioned the priorities of the administration, stating, "When we speak to ZP authorities, they cite a fund crunch. Does this mean funds are available for new schemes like Ladki Bahin, but not for those who served the system for decades and now depend on pensions for survival?" Bhandarkar further pointed out that even the courts have ruled that all post-retirement benefits must be disbursed within one month of an employee's retirement.
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Vedika Bhandarkar Believes We Can Solve the Water Crisis in Our Lifetime
Credit - Noam Galai—Getty Images for Clinton Global Initiative On May 1, Gold House unveiled its annual A100 List, recognizing the 100 most impactful Asian Pacific leaders across industries. See the full list here. Of all the problems the world faces, providing enough water for drinking and sanitation is among the most solvable. Everybody agrees that humans need water. Nobody is morally opposed to providing it. The technology exists to bring water to most places. The earth has enough drinkable water, currently, to meet its needs. And yet about half of the world has to work pretty hard to get water, buying it from trucks, drinking from substandard sources, or sending children or women out to lug it back from a distant supply. What's stopping us from ensuring everyone has access to clean water? 'It is a lot about money,' says Vedika Bhandarkar, 57, the president and COO of 'If I don't have safe water at home, I know I need to get connected to the utility, or I need to build a water-storage tank and rainwater-harvesting system. But I lack the upfront capital and an affordable way to get that capital.' Bhandarkar is on the forefront of clear-cutting a path to financing for those who have none. Before she started working at in 2016, Bhandarkar had never heard of the organization and knew very little about how water was provided around the world. But she was pretty adept at working the levers of finance, having worked in the sector for 25 years and headed up Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse's investment-banking divisions in India. Her success and the rise of India as an economic force grew in tandem, but she was aware that the growth had not lifted the fortunes of everyone. 'Irrespective of where you live, you sort of enclose yourself in a bubble,' she says. 'But it's much harder to do that when you see your own country, women and men, the way they live, and how wrong that is and how unfair that is.' When she decided to leave banking, partly because it 'is all about being younger and leaner and hungrier and meaner, so you should move out before somebody moves you out,' she says, she wanted to find a way to make a different kind of impact. She started by volunteering at the Jai Vakeel Foundation, an Indian organization that works with people with developmental disabilities. But pretty soon philanthropy recruiters came sniffing. She got offers from two organizations, and she discussed them with her husband and two children. When she got to the part about how was co-founded by Matt Damon, her kids had heard enough, she says. 'They turned to me and said, 'Mom, why are you even thinking about the other one?'' While her children's advice was heartening, what really motivated her was realizing how the lack of access to water exacerbated many other problems that impoverished communities faced, especially among women and girls, who use up a good portion of their day fetching water. 'They don't have time to spend either looking after their families and/or engaging in other economic activities,' says Bhandarkar, who, with her husband, had focused their philanthropic giving on women and girls even before becoming a professional in the aid world. 'Girls drop out of school because they're helping their moms collect water, or you have health issues because you don't have access to safe water. When we solve this, we'll also make progress on so many other aspects.' Providing water is not a one-size-fits-all proposition. Some places have plenty of rain, but it's seasonal. Householders there would benefit from a tank. Others have groundwater but need a treatment plant or a pump. For many, fecal contamination is the main issue. In 2016 the World Bank estimated it would cost about $114 billion annually to meet the globe's basic water needs, and annual expenditure was about $20 billion—and that was before Western countries including the U.S. and the U.K. began to shrink their foreign-aid budgets. way of addressing that shortfall is to help provide funds to kick-start local water programs that the recipients pay for, via loans. has created several avenues to entice people to fund water access. One of these is a group of five funds, known collectively as WaterEquity, from which donors and investors supply capital to local banks and credit providers, who then make loans to people who need water infrastructure, whether for drinking or sanitation. Bhandarkar's expertise and contacts have helped mobilize the whole spectrum of finance from philanthropists to investors to put this capital together. 'In an ideal world you could say, well, this should be funded by the government, but today there is a big funding gap, and it needs everybody to lean in,' she says. The organization also operates WaterConnect, which offers early-stage funding and technical know-how to local developers to build water infrastructure, and WaterCredit, which provides microloans to families in the developing world for safe water and sanitation. Initially, some of local partners resisted facilitating loans as opposed to grants. But Bhandarkar believes loans are a more sustainable model and allow many more people to be helped. declines to dictate the interest rates charged on the loans, although they are careful about their collaborators. 'You need to leave that decision to the financial institution,' she says. 'If you start telling them 'Charge X and not Y,' then you start distorting the market, and they will do water and sanitation lending only as long as you're partnering with them, and when you step away, they will stop.' So far, 179 partners in 16 countries have made 16.9 million loans, and the organization believes it has had an impact on 76 million people. As the developed nations begin to withdraw most of their support for their impoverished neighbors, Bhandarkar feels the responsibility of her work more keenly. 'There are so many great organizations who aren't able to work or whose ability to work is so severely curtailed right now,' she says. 'So the responsibility on us to put our heads down and work harder to achieve impact at scale is even more today than it was a year ago.' But she's optimistic. 'I do have hope that this problem can be solved,' she says. 'And I do have hope that this problem can be solved in our lifetimes." Contact us at letters@
Time Magazine
01-05-2025
- General
- Time Magazine
Vedika Bhandarkar Believes We Can Solve the Water Crisis in Our Lifetime
While her children's advice was heartening, what really motivated her was realizing how the lack of access to water exacerbated many other problems that impoverished communities faced, especially among women and girls, who use up a good portion of their day fetching water. 'They don't have time to spend either looking after their families and/or engaging in other economic activities,' says Bhandarkar, who, with her husband, had focused their philanthropic giving on women and girls even before becoming a professional in the aid world. 'Girls drop out of school because they're helping their moms collect water, or you have health issues because you don't have access to safe water. When we solve this, we'll also make progress on so many other aspects.' Providing water is not a one-size-fits-all proposition. Some places have plenty of rain, but it's seasonal. Householders there would benefit from a tank. Others have groundwater but need a treatment plant or a pump. For many, fecal contamination is the main issue. In 2016 the World Bank estimated it would cost about $114 billion annually to meet the globe's basic water needs, and annual expenditure was about $20 billion—and that was before Western countries including the U.S. and the U.K. began to shrink their foreign-aid budgets. way of addressing that shortfall is to help provide funds to kick-start local water programs that the recipients pay for, via loans. has created several avenues to entice people to fund water access. One of these is a group of five funds, known collectively as WaterEquity, from which donors and investors supply capital to local banks and credit providers, who then make loans to people who need water infrastructure, whether for drinking or sanitation. Bhandarkar's expertise and contacts have helped mobilize the whole spectrum of finance from philanthropists to investors to put this capital together. 'In an ideal world you could say, well, this should be funded by the government, but today there is a big funding gap, and it needs everybody to lean in,' she says. The organization also operates WaterConnect, which offers early-stage funding and technical know-how to local developers to build water infrastructure, and WaterCredit, which provides microloans to families in the developing world for safe water and sanitation. Initially, some of local partners resisted facilitating loans as opposed to grants. But Bhandarkar believes loans are a more sustainable model and allow many more people to be helped. declines to dictate the interest rates charged on the loans, although they are careful about their collaborators. 'You need to leave that decision to the financial institution,' she says. 'If you start telling them 'Charge X and not Y,' then you start distorting the market, and they will do water and sanitation lending only as long as you're partnering with them, and when you step away, they will stop.' So far, 179 partners in 16 countries have made 16.9 million loans, and the organization believes it has had an impact on 76 million people. As the developed nations begin to withdraw most of their support for their impoverished neighbors, Bhandarkar feels the responsibility of her work more keenly. 'There are so many great organizations who aren't able to work or whose ability to work is so severely curtailed right now,' she says. 'So the responsibility on us to put our heads down and work harder to achieve impact at scale is even more today than it was a year ago.' But she's optimistic. 'I do have hope that this problem can be solved,' she says. 'And I do have hope that this problem can be solved in our lifetimes."
