Brands
Soha Ali Khan joins P&G to help build a P&G Shiksha school in Kolkata
MUMBAI: Having impacted the lives of over 420, 000 children till date, P&G’s flagship Corporate Social Responsibility program P&G Shiksha continues to march forward with the motto ‘Padegha India, Badhega India. In its 10th year, P&G Shiksha makes the necessary infrastructure interventions by building and supporting schools across the country thereby giving children the access to education. Supporting this endeavour, Bollywood actress Soha Ali Khan, who has been associated with the P&G Shiksha initiative for many years, paid a visit to a P&G Shiksha School in Kolkata to help paint the school walls and complete the on-going construction activities at the school. P&G Shiksha’s infrastructure interventions are key to enabling access to education to children across the country. The actress turned teacher for the day, involved the children in some interactive learning by implementing several fun tactics. She also engaged them in a rapid fire round, on a wide range of subjects and was very impressed with the confidence, intelligence, wit and exuberance demonstrated by the P&G Shiksha children.
The actress also shared her vision of empowering under privileged children with access to education and together with P&G Shiksha urged consumers to make the simple brand choice and join the program’s drive by purchasing P&G products such as Tide, Ariel, Whisper, Pampers, Olay, Head &Shoulders, Pantene, Vicks, Gillette, Oral-B & AmbiPur. These purchases enable the company to channelize part of the sales proceeds towards building and supporting schools across the country.
In West Bengal alone, P&G Shiksha has improved the lives of nearly 5000 underprivileged children through quality education, by building and supporting over 15 schools. With the objective of improving the quality of education and encouraging more children to stay in school in Kolkata, P&G Shiksha delivers key infrastructure interventions that enables access to education and motivates children to learn every day. P&G Shiksha has also been instrumental in the change by equipping schools with necessary amenities from building classrooms to building toilets, thereby bringing down the dropout rate and improving the overall literacy rate in West Bengal.
Supporting this initiative, actress Soha Ali Khan said, “I have been associated with P&G Shiksha for many years now and today I feel proud and delighted to be a part of this initiative yet again. I truly believe that education is a basic right of every child and it is heartening to see a movement like P&G Shiksha facilitating education for underprivileged children and helping them realise their dreams and providing them a better standard of living. With 42% rural areas in India still not having access to primary schools and 30% of primary schools not having proper toilets; infrastructure is a key issue at schools across the country. I am thrilled that by painting the school walls today I have been able to play a small role in giving these children a bright and colourful future and ensuring they have access to a fully functional school! I encourage all of you to join the movement by making the simple brand choice of buying P&G products, as a part of the proceeds go towards building and supporting schools. Today, at the P&G Shiksha School, not only did I discover a teacher in me, but also had a lot of fun painting the kids’ lives that are the future of India.”
 |
P&G Shiksha has over the years received generous support from many thought leaders and celebrities such as Anupam Kher, Dr. Kiran Bedi, Anil Kumble, Rani Mukherjee, John Abraham, Abhay Deol, Farah Khan, Arbaaz Khan, Sameera Reddy, Huma Qureshi, Sushmita Sen, Kareena Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan, Sharmila Tagore, Konkona Sen, Neha Dhupia, Soha Ali Khan, Lara Dutta, Preity Zinta, Jacqueline Fernandez, Jatin Das, Shaan, Chitrangada Singh, Soha Ali Khan, Shruti Hassan and many more.
P&G Shiksha also allows consumers to share in their support. This can be easily done by buying any P&G Product such as Tide, Ariel, Whisper, Pampers, Olay, Head &Shoulders, Pantene, Vicks, Gillette, Oral-B & AmbiPur and part of the proceeds will go towards building and supporting schools. Consumers can also visit P&G Shiksha’s online partner – Amazon.in (www.amazon.in/pgshiksha) to buy P&G products & support this cause.
With a motto of ‘Padhega India, Badhega India’ – P&G Shiksha believes that the secret to a brighter India lies in the quality of education of our children.
Brands
Jubilant FoodWorks faces Rs 47.5 crore GST demand, plans appeal
Tax authorities flag alleged misclassification of restaurant services
MUMBAI: Jubilant FoodWorks Limited has landed in a tax tussle after receiving a GST demand of Rs 47.5 crore from the office of the additional commissioner of CGST and central excise in Thane, Maharashtra.
The order, issued under the provisions of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, relates to an alleged incorrect classification of certain services under the category of restaurant services. According to the tax authorities, this classification resulted in a short payment of goods and services tax for the period between the financial years 2019-20 and 2021-22.
The demand includes Rs 47.5 crore in GST along with an equal amount as penalty, in addition to applicable interest. The order was received by the company on March 13, 2026.
In a regulatory filing to the BSE Limited and the National Stock Exchange of India Limited, the company said it disagrees with the order and believes its arguments were not adequately considered.
The company is preparing to challenge the decision and plans to file an appeal. It added that once the redressal process is complete, the demand is likely to be dropped.
Despite the sizeable figure attached to the notice, the company said it does not expect any material impact on its financials, operations or other activities.
The disclosure was signed by Suman Hegde, EVP and chief financial officer, who confirmed that the company received the order at 19:06 IST on March 13 and has already initiated steps to contest it.
The development places the quick service restaurant major in the middle of a tax debate that could hinge on how certain restaurant-linked services are classified under GST rules. For now, the company appears ready to take the matter from the tax office to the appeals desk.
