Brands
Puma India signs Washington Sundar & Devdutt Padikkal
MUMBAI: Global sports brand Puma has signed a long-term partnership deal with two up and coming players, Washington Sundar and Devdutt Padikkal. The duo joins Puma’s impressive roster of cricketers that include Indian captain Virat Kohli, wicketkeeper-batsman KL Rahul, women’s national cricketer Sushma Verma and legends like Yuvraj Singh.
Considered the future of Indian cricket, Sundar and Padikkal have been punching above their weights in major cricketing tournaments. Sundar’s all-round performance in Australia helped the Indian cricket team clinch a historic away test series win and Padikkal emerged as a ‘find of the season’ with his stellar performance for Royal Challengers Bangalore in his debut Indian Premier League (IPL) season. Sundar, a game changer and Devdutt, a consistent run-getter in the domestic circuit perfectly embody Puma’s ‘Forever Faster’ spirit.
Puma India and southeast Asia managing director Abhishek Ganguly said, “Washington and Devdutt have displayed remarkable resilience and grit on field that’s led to their meteoric rise as athletes. We have always believed in supporting not just established players, but also talent with immense future potential. We will continue to partner with young athletes, also at the grassroots to give back to India’s sporting ecosystem.”
Washington Sundar said, “Feels great to be associated with a brand like Puma which has some of the world’s greatest athletes in their roster. Watching skipper Virat Kohli and KL Rahul closely has given me a deeper insight into the brand. Puma adds a lot of credibility to an athlete’s journey and I’m excited to work with the brand in India.”
Devdutt Padikkal added, “A partnership with a global sports brand like Puma is really a big motivation for young athletes like me. I’m looking forward to a long-term association with the brand.”
Sundar and Devdutt are currently part of the Kohli-led IPL team, Royal Challengers Bangalore in the ongoing IPL 2021.
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.
