MAM
USHA International to sponsor Dr. Bharat Ram Open Sports Fest 2019 at Lady Shri Ram College
MUMBAI: Usha International, one of India’s leading consumer durables company, is the sponsor for the annual Dr. Bharat Ram Open Sports Fest 2019 at Lady Shri Ram College, New Delhi. This underscores the company’s commitment to encourage youngsters to adopt an active lifestyle and instill sporting spirit and values amongst them by providing them an inclusive platform to promote young talent across colleges in Delhi & NCR.
This year, Usha International will be setting up Learn-&-Create DIY stations at the Usha Experiential zone across the three-day event to introduce students to the easy-to-use yet technologically advanced Usha Janome automatic sewing machines like Dream Maker 120, Wonder Stitch Plus, and Allure.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Harvinder Singh, President for Cooking Appliances and Sewing Machines, Usha International said, “The Bharat Ram Open Sports Fest is a place where passion and energy comes together for exhilarating performances. It’s a great privilege to partner with LSR for this as it gives us a chance to engage with the youth and promote Usha International’s philosophy of an active and healthy lifestyle. To fuel some creative passion this year, we have set up an Usha Experiential Zone with DIY work stations for students to explore their artistic side and experience Usha International’s wide range of innovative sewing machines. To add the fun and ‘active’ quotient, there are other activities including Spin the Wheel, Ultimate Frisbee, and a Fitness Challenge to keep the excitement alive.”
Ms. Meenakshi Pahuja, Assistant Professor, Physical Education- Lady Shri Ram College added, “Dr Bharat Ram Sports Meet, the annual sports event of Lady Shri Ram College For Women is one of the most awaited sporting event in the university circle. Here, we get to see so much potential, talent and dedication towards sports, it's inspirational and eye opening. Inspirational, as we get to see youth tap into their talent and explore leadership, peace, harmony and friendship. Eye opening in a way that doesn't just show us the growth in one's sport but also shows us the difference in our personalities and what makes us one. This sports meet is also a huge platform that encourages us to take on a healthy lifestyle, and work towards our goals."
Dr. Bharat Ram Open Sports Meet at the Lady Shri Ram College for Women is a three-day event from 28th February to 2nd March 2019, with participation of over 1200 young sportspersons from various colleges and universities of Delhi-NCR. This event has thirteen disciplines ranging from from archery, athletics, badminton, basketball, chess, judo, lawn tennis, shooting, table tennis, volleyball, football, yoga, and para athletics.
Usha International supports numerous sports and related tournaments in the country including Ultimate Frisbee, Ladies and Amateur Golf, Marathon, Deaf Cricket, Junior Golf Training Programs, Blind Sports (Athletics, Kabaddi, Judo and Powerlifting) and Football.
MAM
ASCI study uncovers how Gen Alpha navigates ads in endless digital feeds
‘What the Sigma?’ ethnographic report maps blurred boundaries between content and commerce for 7–15-year-olds.
MUMBAI: Gen Alpha isn’t scrolling through the internet, they’re living rent-free inside its never-ending dopamine drip, and the ads have already moved in next door. The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) Academy, partnering with Futurebrands Consulting, has published ‘What the Sigma?’, an immersive ethnographic study that maps how Indian children aged 7–15 (Generation Alpha) consume, interpret and live alongside media and commercial messaging in a hyper-digital environment.
The research draws on in-home interviews, sibling and peer conversations, and discussions with parents, teachers, counsellors, psychologists, marketers and kidfluencers across six cities. It examines not only what children watch but how algorithms, content creators, peers and parents shape their relationship with the constant stream of shorts, vlogs, gameplay, memes, sponsored posts and ‘kid-ified’ adult material.
Five core themes emerged:
- Discontinuous Generation, Gen Alpha is not growing up alongside the internet, they are growing up inside it. Cultural references, humour, aesthetics and language sync globally in real time, often leaving adults functionally illiterate in their children’s world. A reference that lands instantly for a 10-year-old in Mumbai or Visakhapatnam feels opaque or disjointed to most parents.
- Authority Vacuum, Parents and teachers frequently lose cultural fluency in digital spaces. The algorithm responsive, inexhaustible and perfectly attuned to preferences becomes the most attentive presence in many children’s daily lives. Rules around screen time feel increasingly difficult to enforce when adults cannot fully see or understand the content landscape.
- Digital as Society, Online and offline no longer exist as separate realms, they form one continuous reality. The phone is not a tool children pick up; it is the primary social environment they inhabit.
- Great Media Mukbang, Content flows as an ambient, boundary-less, multi-sensorial stream. Entertainment, advertising, commerce, gameplay, memes and vlogs merge into one undifferentiated feed. The line between active choice and passive absorption has largely collapsed.
- Blurred Ad Recognition, Children aged 7–12 typically recognise only the most overt advertising formats. Influencer promotions, gaming integrations and vlog sponsorships often register as organic entertainment. Children aged 13–15 show greater ad literacy but remain highly susceptible to narrative-integrated, passion-driven and emotionally resonant brand messaging. Discernment remains low across the board in a non-stop stream.
ASCI CEO and secretary general Manisha Kapoor said, “ASCI Academy’s study is an investigation into the content life of Generation Alpha not to judge them but to understand them. Their cultural reference points seem disjointed from those of earlier generations. Insights on how they perceive advertising is the first step towards building more responsible engagement frameworks, given that they are the youngest media consumers in our country right now.”
Futurebrands Consulting founder and director Santosh Desai added, “While earlier generations have been exposed to digital media, for this generation it is the world they inhabit. This report explores not only what they watch but how they are being shaped by algorithms, content and advertising.”
The study proposes four adaptive, principles-led pathways:
- Universal signposting of commercial intent using design principles that make advertising recognisable even to young audiences.
- Ecosystem-wide responsibility shared among advertisers, platforms, creators, schools and parents.
- Future-ready safeguards built directly into children’s content experiences rather than as optional background settings.
- Formal media and advertising literacy embedded in school curricula to teach age-appropriate understanding of persuasion and commercial intent.
In a feed that never pauses, Gen Alpha isn’t merely watching content, they’re swimming in an ocean where entertainment, commerce and identity swirl together. The real question isn’t whether they can spot an ad; it’s whether the adults building the ocean can agree on where the lifeguards should stand.
