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PV Sindhu joins EBG Foundation to champion child welfare and sports
Olympic medallist backs initiatives on education, grassroots sport and women’s empowerment in India
MUMBAI: Olympic medallist and Padma Shri awardee PV Sindhu has partnered with the EBG Foundation as its official ambassador, lending her voice and stature to initiatives focused on child welfare, grassroots sports and women’s empowerment in India.
The collaboration brings together Sindhu’s global sporting influence and the Foundation’s community-based programmes, with the aim of widening access to education, opportunity and financial independence for underserved groups.
The Foundation is already working across several states through grassroots interventions designed to address social challenges at the community level. With Sindhu on board, it hopes to strengthen its national outreach and accelerate programmes that aim to create lasting, measurable impact.
At the heart of the partnership are three flagship initiatives.
The first, Children for Life, centres on ensuring that children have access to education, healthcare and a safe environment. The programme has begun in Telangana and is designed to build support systems so that financial hardship does not prevent children from pursuing their ambitions.
“True success is meaningful only when it uplifts others,” Sindhu said while speaking about the association. “Partnering with EBG Foundation allows me to support causes that are deeply important to me, including children’s development, youth empowerment and women’s progress. Real change begins when opportunity reaches those who need it most.”
The second initiative, Champion, focuses on spotting and nurturing grassroots sporting talent. Through specialised coaching, better equipment and structured nutritional support, the programme aims to bridge the gap between raw ability and competitive success. Early programmes have already been launched in Telangana.
The third pillar, Naari Shakti, addresses the barriers that often disrupt women’s journeys towards financial independence. Introduced in December 2025, the programme provides monthly financial support of Rs 1,500 to help women pursue vocational training and income-generating opportunities.
EBG Group CEO and founder Irfan Khan, said Sindhu’s association reflects the organisation’s broader commitment to responsible growth.
“PV Sindhu represents discipline, resilience and excellence, values that align closely with our vision. Our goal is not only to expand our work but to build sustainable ecosystems that empower children, nurture sporting talent and enable women to lead with confidence and independence,” he said.
To support the campaign, the Foundation will release three 40-second films featuring Sindhu, each built around one of the social initiatives. The films highlight issues ranging from hunger’s impact on children’s learning to the lack of opportunity in grassroots sports and the challenges that interrupt girls’ education.
Together, the campaign seeks to turn awareness into action and reinforce a simple message: when opportunity is shared, progress multiplies.
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Amazon Q1 revenue jumps 17 per cent to $181.5bn, profit soars to $30.3bn
AWS surges 28 per cent while AI bets reshape cash flow and drive future growth
SEATTLE: Amazon kicked off 2026 with a strong first quarter, reporting a 17 per cent year-on-year jump in net sales to $181.5 billion, up from $155.7 billion in the same period last year, as growth across cloud, advertising, and retail continued to gather pace.
Excluding a $2.9 billion favourable impact from foreign exchange, sales still rose a solid 15 per cent, underlining broad-based demand across its businesses.
The company’s cloud arm, Amazon Web Services, remained the star performer, with revenue climbing 28 per cent to $37.6 billion. Operating income for AWS reached $14.2 billion, up from $11.5 billion a year ago, reinforcing its role as Amazon’s profit engine.
Meanwhile, North America sales rose 12 per cent to $104.1 billion, while international revenue increased 19 per cent to $39.8 billion, or 11 per cent excluding currency effects.
Profit growth outpaced revenue. Operating income climbed to $23.9 billion from $18.4 billion last year, while net income surged to $30.3 billion, or $2.78 per share, compared with $17.1 billion, or $1.59 per share, in the first quarter of 2025. A significant boost came from $16.8 billion in pre-tax gains linked to Amazon’s investment in Anthropic.
Cash generation also strengthened, with operating cash flow rising 30 per cent to $148.5 billion over the trailing twelve months. However, free cash flow dropped sharply to $1.2 billion from $25.9 billion, largely due to a $59.3 billion increase in capital expenditure, primarily tied to artificial intelligence investments.
Commenting on the results, Amazon president and CEO Andy Jassy said, “We’re making customers’ lives easier and better every day across all our businesses, and their response is driving significant growth.”
He added that AWS growth of 28 per cent marked its fastest pace in 15 quarters, while Amazon’s chips business crossed a $20 billion annual revenue run rate, growing at triple-digit rates. Advertising revenue also crossed $70 billion on a trailing twelve-month basis, and store unit growth hit 15 per cent, its highest since the tail end of pandemic lockdowns.
Artificial intelligence remained front and centre of Amazon’s strategy. The company deepened partnerships with OpenAI, Meta, NVIDIA and Uber, while expanding its proprietary chip ecosystem including Trainium and Graviton.
Amazon revealed that it has already deployed over 2.1 million AI chips in the past year and plans to roll out more than one million NVIDIA GPUs starting in 2026. OpenAI alone is expected to consume around two gigawatts of Trainium capacity for advanced AI workloads beginning in 2027.
The company also highlighted rapid adoption of its AI services, with Amazon Bedrock processing more tokens in the first quarter than in all previous years combined, and customer spending on the platform rising 170 per cent quarter-on-quarter.
Beyond cloud and AI, Amazon continued to scale its consumer and logistics ecosystem. It delivered more than one billion items via same-day or overnight delivery so far in 2026 and expanded ultra-fast delivery services across multiple global markets. Prime Video also saw strong engagement, including sports streaming growth and box office success for original content like Project Hail Mary, which has grossed nearly $615 million globally.
Looking ahead, Amazon expects second-quarter net sales to reach between $194 billion and $199 billion, representing growth of 16 per cent to 19 per cent year-on-year. Operating income is projected between $20 billion and $24 billion.
Despite macro uncertainties ranging from foreign exchange fluctuations to global economic conditions, Amazon appears to be leaning into its biggest bets yet. With AI investments accelerating and cloud demand holding firm, the company is positioning itself not just for growth, but for what it calls the next big inflection in technology and commerce.
