MAM
Google India launches #TogetherOnline initiative
MUMBAI: In its efforts to gather support for more women to get on the Internet, Google India has launched an initiative #TogetherOnline in association with Snapdeal, Axis Bank, HUL and GSK. The new initiative aims to encourage Internet users to step up and help women get on the Internet and understand how she can use the web to get ahead in life.
The nine week along initiative, will see a number of activities across India, starting with a concert with Farhan Akhtar to raise awareness amongst the youth in metro cities. Axis Bank will host special digital literacy workshops for women customers in their branches across India, whereas Snapdeal will run awareness campaigns amongst its shoppers and educate women on the entrepreneurial opportunities on their platform. To take the initiative to interiors of India, Google will also launch 500 custom designed Internet carts that will reach out to 5000 locations to engage women in towns and villages across India.
Google India director marketing Sandeep Menon said, “Internet has completely transformed the way we live our lives. Everyday people are discovering new opportunities and finding newer and better ways of doing things on the web to get ahead in life. We want to encourage all these users to extend this power of the web to women in India. #togetheronline is an effort to empower women in India with the knowledge of Internet and how they can use it to do different things in their daily lives. We along with our partners will host a number of initiatives to play our part and we invite all Internet users to play their part and help get more women online.”
In addition to this, Google has partnered with PopXo to cover easy to know and follow steps for day to day living for various categories. The aim of this partnership is to promote digital literacy amongst women.
Axis Bank group executive and head – retail marketing Rajiv Anand said, “As Axis Bank, progress is a part of our identity, our DNA. And we believe that empowering women is integral to the progress of our society. With the Indian woman today transforming from being a key influencer to a decision maker, it is important for her to be empowered with information. We are proud to be championing this cause in association with Google, to bring knowledge at the click of a button and help get more and more Indian women online.”
GSK Consumer Healthcare India marketing head Prashant Pandey added, “The bond between mothers and daughters has always been a unique and everlasting one. From 1896, Horlicks has been helping mothers make their daughters tall, strong and sharp. Today we are delighted to partner Google for their ‘Helping Women Get Online’ – an initiative that encourages daughters to help their mothers go online to stay aware and connected. This is yet another way of saying #LoveYouMaa like our recent digital film celebrating the universal truth that only mothers can give what they don’t have.”
Google has already introduced a number of initiatives to help get more women online through partnerships with various state governments and outreach efforts in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and more recently in Andhra Pradesh. Under the helping women get online initiative, Google has imparted basic Internet training across 950 educational institutes training over 45,000 girl students and over 5000 teachers who can continue to educate and inform more girl students across India.
MAM
Microsoft names Asha Sharma CEO of Gaming division
Nadella appoints AI exec to lead Xbox after Phil Spencer’s retirement; 500 million MAUs mark new era from 20 February 2026.
MUMBAI: Xbox just levelled up its leadership and this time the boss comes with an AI cheat code. On 20 February 2026, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced Asha Sharma as the new executive vice president and CEO of Microsoft Gaming, overseeing the Xbox empire from Redmond, Washington. She steps into the role after Phil Spencer, who led the division since 2014, announced his retirement. The move follows the earlier departure of Xbox president Sarah Bond.
Nadella, writing on the Microsoft Corporate blog said, “I am long on gaming and its role at the center of our consumer ambition… Asha has helped build and scale services that reach billions of people and support thriving consumer and developer ecosystems.” He highlighted Sharma’s track record scaling platforms at global level from her time as chief operating officer at Instacart and vice president at Meta Platforms to her recent stint as president of Microsoft’s CoreAI product division since joining in 2024.
Sharma, a Carlson School of Management graduate with a BSc in Business, has held product leadership roles at Meta, board seats at Home Depot and Coupang, and worked on AI initiatives like Foundry, a platform embedding AI models into third-party apps. She described gaming as “a fusion of art and technology, empowering creators worldwide to push the boundaries of hardware and software.”
Microsoft Gaming boasts more than 500 million monthly active users, cementing its spot as one of the world’s top platforms. This autumn marks the 25th anniversary of the division (the original Xbox launched in 2001), a milestone Sharma will steer alongside renewed AI-driven innovation.
Matt Booty, head of Microsoft’s gaming studios, will report to Sharma as executive vice president and chief content officer. Nadella praised the duo for blending consumer product savvy with deep gaming expertise to fuel platform advances and content pipelines.
Industry eyes are fixed on how Xbox consoles fare against Sony and Nintendo amid fierce competition. Whether Sharma’s AI background sparks a new golden age for Xbox or simply keeps the lights on remains the big boss-level question but one thing’s clear, the next chapter of gaming at Microsoft just got a fresh player with serious strategic depth.
