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Colgate & Haryana govt launch smile mission for 57 lakh pupils
Statewide school drive aims to build healthy smiles and habits
NEW DELHI: Brighter smiles are set to light up classrooms across Haryana as Colgate-Palmolive (India) Limited joins hands with the Government of Haryana to take oral health education to 57 lakh school children.
The collaboration expands Colgate’s flagship Bright Smiles, Bright Futures programme, a global initiative that already reaches more than 10 million children annually across India. Now, Haryana’s pupils are next in line for a lesson that promises to last a lifetime.
At its heart, the partnership weaves structured oral health education directly into both public and private schools across the state. The aim is simple yet ambitious: turn brushing from a chore into second nature, and make preventive care part of everyday school life.
“Ensuring the health and well-being of our children is central to our vision for Haryana’s future,” said Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini. “Through this collaboration, we aim to embed preventive oral hygiene practices among students across the state.”
The programme goes well beyond a one-off awareness talk. It includes engaging, age-appropriate sessions led by trained facilitators, lessons on correct twice-daily brushing, timely toothbrush replacement, nutrition guidance and tobacco prevention awareness.
Every participating school will also install a dedicated Oral Health Board, a daily visual reminder that good habits begin with small, consistent steps. Teachers, meanwhile, will undergo training in dental basics so they can reinforce these lessons long after the initial sessions conclude.
To ensure the message travels home, children will receive take-home dental kits and brushing calendars, nudging families to turn bathroom sinks into hubs of healthy routine.
For Colgate-Palmolive India managing director and chief executive officer Prabha Narasimhan, the initiative signals a shift from conversation to commitment. “By embedding Bright Smiles, Bright Futures into Haryana’s educational framework, we are making preventive care a non-negotiable part of a child’s development,” she said.
The scale is striking. Since its inception, the programme has reached over 195 million children in India and more than 2 billion children and families worldwide. Haryana now joins a growing list of states that have partnered with Colgate to put oral health firmly on the school agenda.
“Preventive health education, when delivered consistently and early, creates ripple effects beyond the classroom,” said Colgate-Palmolive India director for ESG and communications Shilpashree Muniswamappa. “Children become ambassadors of healthy habits within their families and communities.”
The kick-off meeting brought together senior state officials and implementation partners, including representatives from the Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation and IIT Ropar’s iHub AWaDH, underlining the public-private push behind the programme.
In a state known for its sporting grit and agricultural strength, the newest goal is refreshingly simple: healthier teeth, happier children and habits that hold firm long after the school bell rings.
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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.
