MAM
Wal-Mart partners with ‘The Scholar’ to provide student scholarships
MUMBAI: Wal-Mart has signed up as a leading sponsor of a new unscripted, reality TV series – The Scholar, which will be the first prime-time show ever to celebrate higher education as the ultimate American prize.
Filmed at an actual university, The Scholar follows 10 high school seniors who compete for a full scholarship and all college-related expenses. The first episode of this six-week series will air on 6 June on ABC.
Wal-Mart is providing students secondary scholarships throughout the series as they compete in areas of academics, leadership, creativity and community service, while facing oral exams and defending themselves to an Ivy League scholarship committee. Wal-Mart is one of the largest contributors to education in the US, having provided more than $100 million already in scholarship assistance alone to students and schools across the country.
Wal-Mart’s partnership with The Scholar is based on providing actual scholarships to students on the show, as well as merchandise and advertising support. In addition, Wal-Mart’s online advertising support includes a microsite on ABC.com. The microsite features a tour of a virtual dorm room outfitted with merchandise from Wal-Mart and Walmart.com that is shown during The Scholar.
“Wal-Mart believes in helping others reach a better quality of life. We also see education as a gateway to success that can be achieved for those who try, no matter the obstacles. ‘The Scholar’ is a natural fit with our own values and philosophy, and is why we made the decision to work with ABC as a major sponsor,” said Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club Foundation vice president corporate affairs and executive director Betsy Reithemeyer.
Wal-Mart announced that it will provide more than $6.9 million in community scholarship grants to students this summer in communities where its 3,700 stores and Sam’s Club are located. Student awards for the Sam Walton Community Scholarships, presented by the Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club , range from $1,000 to $25,000.
Digital
India leads global adoption of ChatGPT Images 2.0 in first week
From anime avatars to fantasy covers, users turn AI visuals into culture
NEW DELHI: India has emerged as the largest user base for ChatGPT Images 2.0, just a week after its launch by OpenAI, underlining the country’s growing influence on global internet trends.
While the tool was introduced as an advanced image-generation upgrade within ChatGPT, Indian users are quickly reshaping its purpose. Instead of sticking to productivity-led use cases, many are embracing it as a creative playground for self-expression, storytelling and online identity.
From anime-style portraits and cinematic headshots to tarot-inspired visuals and fictional newspaper front pages, the model is being used to create highly stylised, shareable content. Features such as accurate text rendering, multilingual prompts and the ability to generate detailed visuals with minimal input have helped drive rapid adoption.
What sets the latest model apart is its ability to “think” through prompts, generating multiple outputs and adapting to context, including real-time web inputs. But the bigger story lies in how users are engaging with it.
In India, trends are already taking shape. Popular formats include dramatic studio-style lighting edits, LinkedIn-ready headshots, manga-inspired avatars, soft pastel “spring” aesthetics, AI-led fashion moodboards, paparazzi-style visuals and fantasy newspaper covers. Users are also restoring old photographs, creating tarot-style imagery and experimenting with futuristic design concepts.
Local flavour is adding another layer. Prompts such as cinematic portrait collages and Y2K-inspired romantic edits are gaining traction, blending global aesthetics with distinctly Indian internet culture.
The surge reflects a broader shift in how AI tools are being used in the country, moving beyond utility to creativity. As younger users, creators and social media enthusiasts experiment with new visual formats, AI-generated imagery is increasingly becoming part of everyday digital expression.
If early trends hold, ChatGPT Images 2.0 may not just be a tech upgrade but a cultural moment, giving millions a new visual language to play with online.
