MAM
Khele Sanand season three kicks off with bigger goals and stronger community spirit
MUMBAI: Game, set, match! Sanand is playing for keeps. Khele Sanand, Gujarat’s buzzing grassroots sports movement, is back for season 3, and it’s bigger, bolder, and brimming with community pride.
Launched with fanfare at Sanskardham campus, the Vijayi Bharat foundation’s flagship league was inaugurated by international kho kho stars Pratik Waikar and Nirmala Bhati. What began in 2023 with just 2,500 students has now surged into a powerhouse involving over 7,000 young athletes from more than 120 schools.
The numbers tell the story of its rise: a 400 per cent jump in girls’ participation in kho kho, a 39 per cent spike in team registrations, and the involvement of 150 volunteers handling everything from refereeing to hospitality. Backing from 20 village sarpanchs and local businesses has stitched together a genuine community effort, making Khele Sanand much more than a sports league, it’s a movement.
“This is not just a league, it’s a platform that instils teamwork, discipline and resilience,” said Bhati, calling the initiative a bridge between raw talent and bigger opportunities. Waikar agreed and added, “Khele Sanand nurtures ambition and builds belief. It’s giving rural and urban youth alike a chance to compete in a structured, professional environment.”
Season 3 raises the stakes with new venues, expanded formats and enhanced coaching, running through to April 2026. The finale promises not only medals and trophies, but also a celebration of resilience, teamwork and the spirit of participation.
With each season, Khele Sanand proves that sport isn’t just about winning games, it’s about winning communities.
Brands
Boeing appoints Barun as head of FP&A for global engineering function
Seasoned finance leader to steer budgets and strategy across global centres
BENGALURU: Boeing’s finance cockpit has a new pilot, and he is no stranger to turbulence or transformation. Boeing has appointed Barun as head of FP&A for global engineering, placing him at the centre of financial strategy for its worldwide engineering and technology operations.
Based in Bengaluru, Barun steps into a role that is as expansive as it is critical. He will serve as the primary finance lead for Boeing’s Engineering and Technology Centers globally, working closely with executive leadership to shape financial decisions, manage complex budgets, and design scalable finance processes that support the company’s growing engineering footprint.
In a note announcing his move Barun said, “I’m excited to share that I’ve joined Boeing Global Engineering. This opportunity is incredibly meaningful to me not just from a professional standpoint, but also for what Boeing represents globally.” He added that he looks forward to contributing to an organisation that continues to shape the future of aerospace and innovation.
Barun’s mandate spans strategic financial leadership, operational oversight, and stakeholder engagement. From directing large-scale budgets and schedules to influencing long-term organisational goals, the role blends financial discipline with business foresight. He will also lead cross-functional teams and partner with finance colleagues worldwide to support engineering programmes across geographies, including India.
The appointment caps a long stint at Juniper Networks, where Barun spent over a decade, most recently as finance senior manager. There, he led FP&A for global product business units and G&A functions, driving budgeting, forecasting, and long-range planning. He also played a key role in enterprise-wide transformation, including spearheading an Oracle to SAP ERP migration and building advanced analytics capabilities using tools such as Tableau and SAP Analytics Cloud.
His earlier career includes finance leadership roles at Sony India Software Centre, Cognizant Technology Solutions, and Mphasis, where he focused on financial planning, governance frameworks, and operational efficiency across global delivery centres.
A chartered accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, Barun brings nearly two decades of experience across financial planning, digital transformation, and analytics-led decision making.
His appointment comes at a time when global engineering operations are becoming increasingly complex and distributed, requiring sharper financial oversight and agile planning. With Barun at the helm of FP&A for engineering, Boeing appears to be tightening its financial playbook as it looks to scale innovation with discipline.
