MAM
DHFL launches 2nd edition of Behtar India campaign with Parineeti Chopra
MUMBAI: DHFL Pramerica Life Insurance Company has launched its Behtar India campaign. With this, the unique campaign catalysing progressive change towards a sustainable India has embarked on its second year. Launched last year, the campaign supports the community to step forward and help itself in achieving better health, hygiene and environment standards. The eight-month long campaign will focus on three main pillars–health, hygiene and environment (recycling).
‘Behtar India’ is a social innovation that rallies to get different segments of the society together to work towards making their cities cleaner, greener and healthier. The unique format not only supplements the government’s efforts to provide promotive as well as preventive healthcare to the community, but also ensures quality curative healthcare and behaviour change in the fields of hygiene and environment.
Campaign ambassador and actress and Parineeti Chopra says, “It is important to spread the message of better health, hygiene and the importance of recycling within communities to make the world a better place to live in. It is a matter of great responsibility for me to take up this initiative and affect social change. I would like to congratulate DHFL Pramerica Life Insurance, the organisers of ‘Behtar India’ and Arnab Goswami – an influencer like him can bring about massive positive changes. I appeal to everyone to come forward and be a part of this campaign so that this message reaches to as many people as possible.”
DPLI MD and CEO Anoop Pabby mentions, “Through this campaign, we intend to bring together some of key sections of the society like schools, children, corporates and ordinary citizens under a unified platform. While for ‘Behtar Vatavaran’, we intend to inculcate recycling as a habit, starting with paper and e-waste, for ‘Behtar Swachhata’, we would identify a dirty public area in the city and clean it up and for ‘Behtar Swasthya’, we shall be spreading dengue awareness and also distribute dengue protection kits.”
The initiative is a contest for schools and students, a CSR and an employee engagement window for companies, social service for individuals, an amplification tool for the municipal corporations and for the under-privileged children, it is an opportunity to receive free health benefits.
Last year, the ‘Behtar India’ campaign reached out to 11,00,000+ students across 200+ cities and was able to plant 1,50,000 trees. Under the ‘Behtar Swasthya’ initiative, more than 59,000 Dengue protection kits were given out to under-privileged students
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.
