Brands
Xiaomi India retains smartphone market leadership in Q1 2018
MUMBAI: Xiaomi India continued to lead the Indian smartphone market as per IDC’s quarterly mobile phone tracker in Q1 2018. Xiaomi retained its top smartphone brand position with a substantial 30.3 per cent market share, widening the gap between itself and the number 2 smartphone brand. Xiaomi also continued its dominance in the online smartphone market with 59.6 per cent market share. The popularity of Redmi Note 5 and Redmi 5A and Xiaomi’s efforts in expanding its offline presence are key contributors for Xiaomi’s growth in the smartphone market.
Xiaomi India vice president and managing director Manu Jain says, “All the success which Xiaomi enjoys today is proof of the love we have received from millions of our Mi fans. We are thankful to each and every one of them for putting their faith in us and we promise to work hard to retain it. Xiaomi will strive to deliver on its philosophy towards providing high quality innovative technology at an honest price and bring the best of technology to everyone.”
True to its unconventional spirit, Xiaomi India released a unique video. With Xiaomi’s sales continuing to gain momentum, the video gives viewers a series of quirky insights on the vast scale of its smartphone sales in India over the last 3.5 years. The video aptly summarises the incredible scale of Xiaomi’s impact of smartphone sales, making quality and innovation available to everyone.
The video was conceptualised by the brand marketing team of Xiaomi India led by Karan Shroff, brand marketing lead, Xiaomi India and created by Schbang Digital Solutions. For example, if all Xiaomi phones sold were stacked together, it would run 25 times deeper than the depth of Mariana trench, world’s deepest oceanic trench at 10,994 meters and 35 times the height of Mount Everest at 8848 meters. The total weight of all Xiaomi phones sold measure 25 times more than the recorded weight of a blue whale. The video shares a similar fun fact on how the charge from batteries of all Xiaomi phones sold could easily light up the Burj Khalifa for as long as five days, which would stand as a distant dream to many other phone brands. This also highlights the powerful battery life that most Xiaomi smartphones are known for. With its highly engaging content, this video certainly leaves viewers with some great food for thought. Interesting facts like these indicate Xiaomi’s rapid success and growing positive outreach across the country.
Xiaomi was founded in 2010 by serial entrepreneur Lei Jun. With presence in over 70 countries and regions, Xiaomi is expanding its footprint across the world to become a global brand.
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.
