Brands
Micromax looks to encash anti-China sentiments on return
NEW DELHI: The recent ongoing border tension between Indian and China has prompted a major backlash against Chinese products in India. In a bid to encash this anti-China sentiment, homegrown smartphone brand Micromax is making a comeback in the Indian smartphone market.
The company announced on its official Twitter handle that it will launch three new smartphones this year with premium features, affordable pricing and modern looks. The brand is also using hashtags such as #MadeinIndia and #MadebyIndian on its social media channels to promote its offerings.
The Indian smartphone market is dominated by Chinese brands like Xiaomi, OnePlus, Vivo, Realme and others with no Indian brand in the top five. Micromax had its legacy in the market till 2015, before the entry of Chinese giants. According to Canalys, Micromax overtook Samsung in Q4 2015, grabbing 22 per cent of smartphone sales in India, ahead of Samsung’s 20 per cent.
The brand enjoyed massive success once and was known for its power-packed battery with affordable pricing, which made it popular in rural India. In 2015, the company was ranked as the second-largest smartphone seller in India, after Samsung. But soon after the entry of Chinese makers, the tables turned and Micromax was wiped out.
Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo focused heavily on retail distribution, marketing channels, new technologies and other key areas. Micromax also faced stiff competition due to the changing regulatory policies and the onset of 4G technology.
Micromax isn’t the only brand which had faced the brunt. Other Indian companies like Karbonn, Lava, Xolo and Intel have also vanished from the market. Some of them tried focussing on entry-level smartphones, but soon Chinese brands captured that market too.
It’s not going to be an easy task for Micromax to regain the lost market after a gap for several years. Can the growing anti-China sentiments be a boon for Indian smartphone manufacturers or is it a short-term phenomenon?
Independent Communications and Marketing consultant Karthik Srinivasan says, “Features like battery life, camera, screen quality, speed of operation, etc., are graded and compared by a lot of people before making their purchase decision. So, either Micromax or any other Indian brand needs to get their quality right (or at last comparably good) to win over Indian consumers. They cannot depend on anti-China sentiments alone.”
TRA founder and CEO N Chandramouli differs. He says, "It will be a big boon for all non-Chinese manufacturers as the current border tension mounts. Even though Chinese products sell very well in phones, the sentiment of Chinese products, in general, has never been too good. In their price segments, Micromax, Lava, and other such Indian brands will definitely find a greater buying propensity among consumers at a time when they are also in a strong comeback gear. Consumers choose products based on their emotions, values, and beliefs and when it comes to the sovereignty of India being attacked, even the most rational consumers will tend to avoid Chinese brands."
When the #MadeinIndia campaign was launched, the company saw a hope of revival as the brand had an efficient assembling product in India. But soon after, Chinese players started manufacturing their products in India too.
There are speculations that Lava also plans to make a comeback. However, there are no details yet.
Micromax was the first-ever smartphone brand to announced Hugh Jackman as its brand ambassador when the company was at its peak. It also had associations with Akshay Kumar and Twinkle Khanna. However, Chinese smartphones adopted the same proposition. Brands like Oppo, Vivo, Xiaomi, and Realme have been riding high on brand ambassadors like Ayushmann Khurrana, Alia Bhatt, Aamir Khan, Ranbir Kapoor, Salman Khan, Ranveer Singh, etc.
This time Micromax not only needs to strengthen its product portfolio but has to boost awareness and change brand perception in the minds of Indian consumers. So, how crucial does the marketing channel become whenever a brand tries to make a comeback, that too riding on national interest?
“The entire marketing narrative is likely to be one of capturing consumer emotions. Depending on how an Indian brand positions its comeback, it can have a lasting impact. I can foresee Indian phone brands seeking an emotional connect creating ads using actors in military uniform, possibly in treacherous terrain, talking on an Indian phone with his child/wife/mother, with ‘Bharat Ke Saath’ type of messaging,” says Chandramouli.
However, Srinivasan explains that the claims made via marketing need to be believable and credible. "It would be silly to assume that consumers are gullible to go just with a 'Made in India' label in marketing,” he says.
It is pertinent to note that OnePlus launched its new model OnePlus 8 Pro a few days back which was sold out within minutes despite the boycott of Chinese products sentiment on social media platforms.
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.
