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Boon’s WaterAI app wins iF Design Award 2026 for intuitive water insights
Award honours platform that turns complex water data into clear insights
MUMBAI: Water technology company Boon has scooped the prestigious iF Design Award 2026 for its WaterAI mobile application, a platform that transforms complex water quality data into an intuitive digital experience.
The award, given in the Mobile Application category, recognises the app’s ability to translate real time water information into a format that is easy to understand, visually engaging and meaningful for everyday users.
Founded in 1953, the iF Design Award is widely regarded as one of the world’s most respected design honours. The 2026 edition drew more than 10,000 entries from 68 countries. A jury of 129 international design and sustainability experts selected the winners after a detailed evaluation process, making the recognition particularly competitive.
For Boon, the award signals a shift in how water technology is presented to users. Instead of technical dashboards and complex monitoring systems, the WaterAI platform focuses on clarity, storytelling and everyday usability.
The app brings the hidden life of water to the surface by turning real time data on pH levels, total dissolved solids, pressure, temperature, flow and filter health into visual cues and interactive insights. The experience is designed to feel less like monitoring infrastructure and more like keeping an eye on daily wellbeing.
Built around Boon’s signature blue and orange design palette with green accents, the platform blends advanced monitoring technology with a clean, human centred interface. Users can track system performance, observe water quality trends and receive alerts when attention is required.
Boon founder and chief executive Advait Kumar, said the recognition validates the company’s belief that technology and design should work hand in hand.
“Winning the iF Design Award 2026 is a proud milestone for us. Water technology has traditionally been built around anxiety, contamination alerts and complex compliance dashboards. With WaterAI, we wanted to make the invisible visible and turn complex water data into something people can understand and engage with every day,” he said.
Launched in 2025, the WaterAI platform is already used by industry stakeholders across Africa, Asia and Europe. It forms part of Boon’s broader ecosystem that combines filtration technology, IoT monitoring and premium product design.
Today, the company’s technology is used by more than 400 corporates and hospitality properties across 11 countries, helping organisations track and maintain safer water systems in workplaces, hotels and public spaces.
The winners of the iF Design Award 2026 will be honoured at an official ceremony in Berlin on 27 April, where designers and innovators from around the world will gather to celebrate this year’s standout ideas.
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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.
