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Gravolite partners with 56th National Kho Kho Championship
Mumbai: Gravolite, one of the leading sports mat manufacturers in India, became the official supplier of Kho Kho mats for the 56th national Kho Kho championship scheduled to be held from 27 March 2024 to 1st April 2024 in Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium & Karnail Singh Stadium, Delhi. These state-of-the art mats have been approved by the Kho Kho Federation of India.
Gravolite Kho Kho Mats will be used throughout the tournament considering the infrastructural requirement recommended by the Federation as per international standards and keeping in mind the safety and well-being of the athletes.
Gravolite director Vaibhav Somani said, We are excited to be the official manufacturer and supplier of 56th National Kho Kho championship. Kho Kho has been a sport that has not received much recognition in the Indian sports industry in the past but, with such national level tournaments, players get the acknowledgment and motivation to perform better. We have been manufacturing world-class Kho Kho mats to safeguard the health and well-being of the players. Sometimes, playing such combat sports on ground soil can cause severe injuries or lifelong disabilities to the athletes. But, with Gravolite Kho Kho mats, the athletes get the desired cushion base and floor padding which helps them to maneuver moves without having to sustain injury.
Somani further added we are honoured to contribute to the success of 56th national Kho Kho championship and to the advancement of Kho Kho as a sport. He further added that 56th Kho Kho championship is a national level tournament, and providing high-quality international mats is our priority.
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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.
