Chandigarh, Feb 01: State Bank of India (SBI), the country’s largest public sector bank, today announced the launch of ‘CHAKRA’ – Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Sunrise Sectors, a strategic initiative aimed at enabling responsible, scalable, and innovation-led financing for sectors critical to India’s long-term economic transformation.
Aligned with the national vision of Viksit Bharat 2047, CHAKRA will serve as a knowledge-driven platform to strengthen SBI’s institutional capabilities in financing next-generation, technology-intensive, and sustainability-focused sectors. The initiative underscores SBI’s commitment to channel capital efficiently while enhancing risk assessment frameworks and developing innovative financing structures tailored to evolving business models and policy priorities.
The Centre was inaugurated by Shri M. Nagaraju, Secretary, Department of Financial Services, Government of India, in the presence of Shri Challa Sreenivasulu Setty, Chairman, State Bank of India. The launch event was attended by SBI’s Managing Directors, senior representatives from public and global banks, leading conglomerates, financial institutions, industry bodies, and key ecosystem stakeholders.
Commenting on the launch, Shri M. Nagaraju said,
“The CHAKRA Centre of Excellence is a commendable initiative by State Bank of India. Its vision to function as a coordinated ecosystem platform—covering knowledge-sharing, project appraisal, capacity building, and evidence-based policy engagement—will meaningfully accelerate India’s journey towards Viksit Bharat 2047.”
CHAKRA will focus on eight high-impact sunrise sectors—Renewable Energy, Advanced Cell Chemistry and Battery Storage, Electric Mobility, Green Hydrogen, Semiconductors, Decarbonisation, Smart Infrastructure, and Data Centre Infrastructure. These sectors are expected to collectively attract capital investments exceeding ₹100 lakh crore by 2030, positioning them as key engines of India’s future growth. The Centre will play a catalytic role in enabling this large-scale investment.
Speaking on the occasion, Shri Challa Sreenivasulu Setty, Chairman, State Bank of India, said,
“India’s growth over the coming decades will be anchored in innovation, sustainability, and advanced manufacturing. With CHAKRA, SBI is strengthening its ability to understand emerging sectors, design specialised financing solutions, and collaborate with the broader ecosystem to support projects that contribute meaningfully to national development. This Centre of Excellence reinforces SBI’s leadership in new-age technologies and climate finance, strengthens India’s integration into global value chains, and accelerates progress towards Viksit Bharat 2047.”
CHAKRA will deliver tangible outcomes through white papers, sectoral reports, knowledge series, industry roundtables, and policy dialogues, enabling informed decision-making for clients, investors, and policymakers. The Centre will also facilitate structured engagement with development finance institutions, multilateral agencies, banks, NBFCs, corporates, start-ups, academia, industry bodies, and policy think-tanks.
This initiative builds on SBI’s earlier Centre of Excellence for MSMEs at the State Bank Academy and reflects the Bank’s continued focus on strengthening institutional knowledge, supporting innovation-driven enterprises, and improving capital flows to sectors shaping India’s sustainable and technology-led future.
