MAM
Ranjan Kapur is Bates India chairman
MUMBAI: Bates India has named Ranjan Kapur as chairman of the agency. This is in addition to his current role as WPP India country head.
At Bates India the chairman position was vacant as Sonal Dabral had quit in January 2012.
In his new role, Kapur will work closely with the senior management of Bates India to help develop an organisation structure that offers more relevant ways of engaging with clients and consumers, the company said.
Kapur said, “Bates has developed an exciting new ‘changengage’ philosophy that helps provide solutions that are both media and discipline neutral, and it has through the line capability and resources, to deliver them.
To drive this thinking forward we are in conversations with a few new age thinkers and we hope to finalise on the CEO for bates India very shortly.”
Ranjan has been informally engaged with Bates ever since he stepped down as chairman of Ogilvy.
Bates 141 regional head of planning Dheeraj Sinha feels that Kapur will help galvanise the people at bates India. He said, “His reputation precedes him and he hasn’t lost any of the passion and drive he displayed when he led Ogilvy to the top.”
Bates Asia regional head Tim Isaac said, “The recent departures at Bates India, have presented us with an opportunity to put the right leadership in place. I am delighted to renew my partnership with Ranjan. I have worked with Ranjan many times since I first arrived in Singapore in 1986. With Ranjan as chairman and a new CEO in place shortly we will be looking to accelerate our growth in India”.
Brands
Uidai partners with Google to help users locate Aadhaar centres
Verified Aadhaar centres to appear on Maps with services and access info
MUMBAI: Finding an Aadhaar centre may soon be as easy as finding your favourite café. In a move aimed at making public services more accessible, the Unique Identification Authority of India has partnered with Google to display authorised Aadhaar centres on Google Maps. The feature, expected to roll out in the coming months, will allow residents to locate verified centres quickly and confidently.
More than 60,000 Aadhaar centres, including state of the art Aadhaar Seva Kendras, will be mapped. When users search on Google Maps, they will be directed to authorised facilities rather than unverified listings, helping curb misinformation and confusion.
The listings will do more than drop a pin. Users will be able to see the nature of services offered at each centre, whether it is adult enrolment, child enrolment, or limited to address and mobile number updates. Details such as operating hours, parking availability and divyang friendly infrastructure will also be shown wherever applicable.
Uidai CEO Bhuvnesh Kumar, said the collaboration is part of the authority’s continued effort to improve ease of living for Aadhaar holders by making authorised centres simpler and faster to navigate.
The partnership will deepen in its next phase, with Uidai using Google Business Profile to manage information and respond directly to public feedback. Looking ahead, the two organisations are also exploring the option of enabling appointment bookings through the Google Maps interface, potentially allowing residents to plan their visits with greater efficiency.
Google India country head, strategic partnerships Roli Agarwal, said integrating verified Aadhaar centres would help millions access trusted services with confidence, bringing essential government infrastructure closer to the people who need it most.
If all goes to plan, a routine Aadhaar update may soon begin not with a queue, but with a search bar.
