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SPH Aviation to showcase homegrown drones to Army, J&K Police
MUMBAI: If the skies had a heartbeat, it would be thumping a little louder this month. SPH Aviation is preparing to put its latest homegrown drones through their paces for the Indian Army in Spiti Valley and for the J&K Police at TCIL, marking a fresh chapter in India’s race to build its own defence UAV ecosystem.
The company plans to demonstrate two of its newest creations, a fixed wing kamikaze drone and a high altitude multicopter UAV, both designed and built in India. The upcoming trials are expected to underline the country’s growing confidence in indigenous defence technology at a time when demand for tactical drones is rising across the forces.
This push has already gathered momentum. Earlier in November, SPH Aviation unveiled five new Indian made drones at Haryana Bhawan in New Delhi in the presence of Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini, turning the spotlight on the state’s growing role in shaping India’s aerospace ambitions.
The company has also delivered its Hawk training drones to the 02 Maratha LI Regiment to support field training and on ground preparedness.
SPH Aviation chairman Deep Sihag Sisai, said the company’s mission is driven by a simple idea. “We want India to stand on its own feet in defence technology. The vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat belongs not just to the government but to every Indian innovator. We are committed to building drones that serve our forces with speed, precision and reliability. We will keep pushing until India takes the lead in global UAV innovation.”
Behind the scenes, the company is strengthening its research engine through collaborations with IIT Kanpur, IIT Ropar, Becil and ITI. These partnerships support advanced R&D, prototype development and scaled manufacturing pathways.
With its DGCA certification and a strong track record of training hundreds of drone pilots across the country, SPH Aviation is now expanding confidently into tactical UAVs. The move signals India’s readiness to field more indigenous drone systems across its armed forces and security agencies, while giving a timely boost to the Make in India and Aatmanirbhar Bharat missions.
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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.
