MAM
Care World TV gets into wellness products home shopping
MUMBAI: Seven Star Satellite managing director Ajit Gupta was watching home shopping channel Star CJ Network a few months ago when suddenly an idea popped up his head: “Why don‘t I extend this vending concept to even the health care segment in the channel I run – Care World TV?”
Come 13 June and his idea will fructify into reality when he launches the Wellness Mall, a three hour programming block on India‘s first healthcare channel Care World TV. A website providing information about preventive, curative and nutritive products is also being launched on the same day dovetailing with the launch of the programming block.
Additionally, on that day a three day exhibition called the Wellness Expo will be flagged off in Mumbai‘s Andheri West suburb, showcasing the range of products that will be hawked on air.
“There‘s very little knowledge and information about traditional, natural and alternative medicine in India,” he says. “We don‘t know what benefits these age old remedies can offer us. We don‘t know where we can get them. Hence quacks on the streets tend to step in and make a quick buck while duping the innocent.”
The Care World Wellness Mall will display products across six broad categories: beauty care, fitness and slimming, health and wellness, food and beverages, rejuvenation and alternative therapy. Gupta says non-disclosure agreements prevent him from naming the vendors who are getting onto the mall.
He will, however, be working with experts in various fields who will feature in short episodes five to seven minutes long or longer ones which are of 30 minutes duration. “We charge anywhere from Rs 5,000 for a five to seven minute slot of programming to as much as Rs 20,000 for a half hour slot. We will also produce the programme for any of our partners at a cost.”
Producer Gajendra Singh‘s brother Ashok Singh has been with the channel as creative director from inception, churning out TV shows for Care World TV and he will also be producing TV content for the Wellness Mall.
“We will be selling only FDA approved medicines,” he says. “The idea is a viewer watches our programming block and is then directed to call a toll free number to get advice from our experts. He can also go to our website to get more information about the cure which he is seeking. Only after he is made aware about all the benefits of the medicine and its side-effects, can he make a decision to buy it.”
Gupta reveals that the Wellness Mall has not involved a great deal of investment. But he may require big money if the experiment works well and he decides to launch a 24 hour wellness home shopping channel.
Gupta has been in the TV industry for quite a while having worked with channels such as Aastha, Zee TV before going onto partner cable TV operator Atul Saraf to launch Care World TV.
The company is extremely entrepreneurial and seeks to explore any revenue generation opportunity that comes its way.
Turnover is in double digit crore is all that Gupta is willing to disclose. “We have been funding the channel through internal accruals only,” he says.
“It gives us great pride that a small company like us has managed to impact the lives of so many people in India,” he says with a smile. “Viewers have been interacting with us through popular shows like ‘Ask the Doctor‘ and ‘The Psychology behind Love‘,” he points out.
The channel is available in about 45 million homes nationally, and on most digital cable networks.
“The wellness sector is booming,” says Gupta. “It is expected to touch Rs 950 billion by 2014. And the key driver is expected to be the 40 plus age group. We will be targeting tier 1, 2 and 3 cities, anyone whose annual income is more than Rs 2,00,000.”
Brands
YES Bank hands the keys to SBI veteran Vinay Tonse as it bets on a new era
Former SBI managing director appointed as YES Bank’s new MD and CEO
MUMBAI: YES Bank is done rebuilding. Now it wants to grow. The private sector lender has appointed Vinay Muralidhar Tonse as managing director and chief executive officer-designate, with RBI approval secured and a start date of April 6, 2026 confirmed. The three-year term signals the bank’s intent to shift gears from crisis recovery to full-throttle expansion.
Tonse, 60, is no stranger to scale. Most recently managing director at State Bank of India, he oversaw a retail book of roughly $800bn in deposits and advances, one of the largest in the country. Before that, he ran SBI Mutual Fund from August 2020 to December 2022, a stint that saw assets under management surge from Rs 4.32 lakh crore to Rs 7.32 lakh crore across market cycles. Add stints in Singapore and four years leading SBI’s overseas operations in Osaka, and the incoming chief arrives with a genuinely global CV.
His academic grounding is equally solid: a commerce degree from St Joseph’s College of Commerce, Bengaluru, and a master’s in commerce from Bangalore University.
The appointment follows an extensive search and evaluation process by the bank’s Nomination and Remuneration Committee. NRC chairperson Nandita Gurjar said the committee unanimously backed Tonse, citing his leadership track record, governance credentials and ability to drive the bank’s next phase of transformation.
Non-executive chairman Rama Subramaniam Gandhi was unequivocal. “I am certain that Vinay Tonse, with his vast experience as a senior banker, will propel YES Bank to its next phase of growth,” Gandhi said, adding that the bank remains focused on strengthening its retail and corporate banking franchises and expanding its branch network.
Rajeev Kannan, non-executive director and senior executive at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, the bank’s largest shareholder, said Tonse’s experience across retail, corporate banking, global markets and asset management positioned him well to lead the lender. SMBC said it looks forward to working with Tonse and the board as YES Bank pursues its ambition of becoming a top-tier private sector lender anchored in strong governance and sustainable growth.
Tonse succeeds Prashant Kumar, who took the helm in March 2020 when YES Bank was in freefall following a severe financial crisis, and spent six years painstakingly stabilising the institution, rebuilding governance and restoring operational scale. Gandhi was generous: “The bank remains indebted to Prashant Kumar, who is responsible for much of what a strong financial powerhouse YES Bank is today.”
Tonse, for his part, struck a purposeful note. “Together with the board and my colleagues, I remain deeply committed to creating long-term value for all our stakeholders,” he said, pledging to build on Kumar’s foundation guided by his personal motto: Make A Difference.
Beyond the balance sheet, Tonse played cricket at college and club level and represented Karnataka in archery at the national championships — sports he credits with teaching him teamwork, situational leadership, discipline and focus. In quieter moments, he reaches for retro Kannada music, classic Hindi songs, and the crooning of Engelbert Humperdinck, Mukesh and Kishore Kumar.
YES Bank has its steady-handed rebuilder in Kumar to thank for survival. Now it has a scale-obsessed growth banker at the wheel. The next chapter starts April 6.
