Brands
PepsiCo India launches Gatorade in Jammu & Kashmir
Mumbai: PepsiCo India is expanding its beverage offerings in Jammu & Kashmir with the launch of its iconic hydration brand, Gatorade for the first time in the market. Gatorade is known for its commitment to inspire young individuals to lead active lifestyles and reinstates the important role hydration plays in helping them unlock their full potential. Gatorade will be available in Jammu & Kashmir in all three of its flavors: blue bolt, orange, and lemon.
With the rollout of Gatorade across Jammu & Kashmir, PepsiCo India will further the brand’s ongoing ‘Sweat Makes You Shine’ messaging and campaign in the state. Beyond refueling audiences physically to combat dehydration, Gatorade will inspire all consumers with the confidence and self-belief they need to achieve peak performance.
The launch of Gatorade was celebrated by a marquee event in Jammu in the presence of renowned personalities including Vivrant Sharma, Ajay Sharma, head coach, seniors of JKCA, Jammu & Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) member Brig. Anil Gupta, and current captain – Jammu & Kashmir cricket team and former India U19 player Shubham Khajuria. The event also welcomed PepsiCo India leadership and Jai Beverages Pvt. Ltd owner Anurag Jaipuria. These designated guests engaged in a conversation that highlighted Gatorade’s role in hydration and maintaining an active lifestyle, positioning it as the preferred choice for athletes and fitness enthusiasts alike.
PepsiCo India associate director, energy & hydration Ankit Agarwal said, “Backed by GSSI (Gatorade Sports Science Institute), Gatorade has consistently been at the forefront of hydration, delivering athletes and people with active lifestyles the essential means to enhance their performance through consistent replenishment. We are thrilled to bring Gatorade to Jammu & Kashmir and are hopeful that we inspire professional athletes or anyone who enjoys an active lifestyle across the region to keep pushing the limits and stay hydrated in their fitness journey with Gatorade.”
PepsiCo director- north, east and central Saurabh Sharma said, “As we introduce Gatorade in Jammu & Kashmir, I’m absolutely thrilled. Our goal is to inspire everyone in the region, be they athletes or those who follow active lifestyle, to stay hydrated and pursue their goals with the support of Gatorade every step of the way.”
Jai Beverages Pvt Ltd VP sales and marketing Sami Butt said, “Gatorade believes in the importance of staying active and healthy. We’re happy to bring Gatorade to Jammu & Kashmir, hoping to motivate athletes and active individuals to stay hydrated and reach their goals.”
Gatorade is available in three variants – blue bolt, orange, and lemon in 250 ml packs across all traditional and modern retail outlets as well as leading e-commerce platforms.
Brands
Samsung certifies 1,000 Maharashtra students in AI and coding
The South Korean electronics giant marks its first large-scale skilling push in the state, with women making up nearly half the national programme’s enrolment
PUNE: Samsung has put 1,000 students in Maharashtra through a certified training programme in artificial intelligence and coding, the largest such drive the South Korean electronics company has run in the state and a signal that corporate India’s skilling ambitions are moving well beyond the boardroom brochure.
The certifications were awarded under Samsung Innovation Campus (SIC), the company’s flagship corporate social responsibility programme, which launched in India in 2022 with the stated aim of democratising access to future-technology education. The 1,000 graduates were drawn from four institutions: 127 from Savitribai Phule Pune University, 373 from Pimpri Chinchwad University, 250 from D.Y. Patil University’s Ramrao Adik Institute of Technology and 250 from Anjuman-I-Islam’s Kalsekar Technical Campus. All completed training in either AI or coding and programming, the two disciplines Samsung has identified as the critical pillars of the digital economy.
The programme does not stop at technical training. Soft-skills development and career-readiness modules are baked into the curriculum, a deliberate attempt to close the gap between what universities teach and what employers actually want.
“India’s digital growth story will ultimately be shaped by the quality of its talent pipeline,” said Shubham Mukherjee, head of CSR and corporate communications at Samsung Southwest Asia. “As technologies like AI move from the periphery to the core of industries, skilling must evolve from basic training to building real-world capability. This milestone in Maharashtra reflects how industry and academia can come together to create a future-ready workforce that is both globally competitive and locally relevant.”
The Maharashtra drive sits within a rapidly scaling national effort. Samsung Innovation Campus trained 20,000 young people across India in 2025, hitting its stated target for the year. Women account for 48 per cent of national enrolments, a figure the company cites as evidence of its push for an inclusive technology ecosystem. The programme is implemented in partnership with the Electronics Sector Skills Council of India and the Telecom Sector Skill Council.
Samsung, which is marking 30 years in India this year, runs SIC alongside two other initiatives, Samsung Solve for Tomorrow and Samsung DOST, as part of a broader effort to build what it calls a generation of innovators with both the technical depth and the problem-solving mindset to thrive in a fast-moving digital world.
A thousand certified students is a tidy headline. Whether they find jobs that match their new skills is the harder question, and the one that will ultimately determine whether corporate skilling programmes like this one are genuine pipelines or well-photographed gestures.
