MAM
Bharat Kapadia takes over as Bhaskar Group ED
MUMBAI: Bharat Kapadia, executive director of Divya Bhaskar, has been appointed as the executive director of the entire Bhaskar Group. The appointment comes in the wake of the Group’s expansion through new ventures in the form of additional magazines and new initiatives coming from I Media Corporation Limited (IMCL).
Kapadia’s role would make him responsible for not only Divya Bhaskar, but also Dainik Bhaskar and magazines like Aha! Zindagi and Bal Bhaskar in Hindi and Saurashtra Samachar in Gujarati. Two more Hindi publications are on the cards – a career magazine and a women’s magazine.
“I joined Divya Bhaskar in 2005 and my mandate was largely to turn around the fortunes of the company, which we successfully managed to do so. I’m hopeful of carrying the same growth forward,” said Kapadia, about his appointment which is effective immediately.
Kapadia has also been spearheading the ‘Vote For Taj’ campaign as chairman of IMCL, wherein they have won marketing rights for a campaign being created to promote Taj Mahal as one of the ‘New Seven Wonders of the World’. He elaborated, “The campaign for the Taj will only get more aggressive and we’ll be shortly unveiling the official song for the same.”
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.
