Challa Setty

Chairman, State Bank of India

Citi India Conference 2026: Keynote Address by SBI Chairman Challa Sreenivasulu Setty

📅 Jun 02, 2026 moneycontrol 42 MIN 1129 VIEWS 20 SEGMENTS · 4 SPEAKERS

India's top business leaders, investors and policymakers have gathered at the Citi India Conference 2026 in Mumbai. With discussions spanning Vision India 2047, banking, AI, capital markets and economic growth, the event offers insights into the forces shaping India's future. #CitiIndiaConference #VisionIndia2047 #IndianEconomy #BusinessNews #AI #CapitalMarkets #Banking #Investing #IndiaGrowth #Mumbai Moneycontrol is India’s leading financial portal, offering market news, expert analysis, and powerful tools. A part of Network18, moneycontrol.com is India’s most trusted destination for fi...

What Challa Setty said

Written from the verified transcript and checked against it. Every figure links to the moment it was said.

Challa Setty, Chairman of State Bank of India, spoke at the Citi India Conference 2026 about banking's role in India's growth toward 2047. He noted his 37 years at SBI and the evolution from early computerization to today's digital era. Setty highlighted that India's digital public infrastructure, especially UPI, handles 200 billion transactions annually, with SBI processing 30% of them. He cited financial inclusion gains, with microfinance borrowers rising from 33 million to 63 million, 95% women. He estimated financing needs of 200 trillion rupees by 2030 for infrastructure and development. Setty expressed confidence in India's long-term growth, citing demographic dividend and entrepreneurship, and recalled SBI's turnaround from a 2018 loss to a $100 billion market cap. He emphasized AI adoption, with 530 million customers, and said India focuses on CBDC, not crypto. He also discussed loan growth in renewables, data centers, and manufacturing, noting PLI success in electronics.

Key takeaways

SBI handles 30% of India's 200 billion annual UPI transactions.
India needs 200 trillion rupees in financing by 2030 for growth.
Microfinance borrowers grew from 33 million to 63 million, 95% women.
SBI has 530 million customers and is using AI for pre-approved personal loans.
India focuses on CBDC, not cryptocurrencies, for digital currency.

Numbers and commitments

Figure	What it refers to	Type	At
200 billion	annual UPI transactions in India	metric	8:59
30%	SBI's share of UPI transactions	metric	8:59
33 million to 63 million	increase in microfinance borrowers	metric	8:59
95%	share of microfinance borrowers who are women	metric	8:59
200 trillion rupees	estimated financing needed by 2030	guidance	8:59
530 million	SBI's customer base	metric	26:54
$100 billion	SBI's market cap goal achieved	metric	38:43
1.1 billion	India's working population	metric	40:59

Chapters

0:00Opening remarks and personal history
26:54AI adoption in banking
29:54Jobs and reskilling
32:02Cryptocurrency and CBDC stance
33:23Policy recommendations and government support
35:35Loan growth segments and manufacturing
38:43Long-term growth confidence and banking's legacy

Questions asked in this interview

25:55How do you see the relationship between traditional banks, fintechs, and emerging technologies like AI?
29:20Jobs not increasing, AI may diminish job openings. Any thoughts?
31:48On a related subject, with global trends in cryptocurrencies, where do you see that with the financial ecosystem?
33:01Another theme: if you had the privilege to become a member of the Ministry of Finance, what three key policy measures would you enact?
35:10Thoughts on manufacturing and Make in India?
38:05One: given that Taiwan stock market cap surpassed India and Korea also, and currency concerns, what gives you confidence India's economy will outperform?
40:34If we meet again in 2047, what would be the most significant contribution of the banking industry?

Amol 1:57 ↗

Yes. For those who have traveled across city and across the world, we're grateful for you to be here in person. I would like to extend a special welcome to Mr. C.S. Setty, Chairman, State Bank of India, and other distinguished guests. Later today we will be joined by Ambassador Sergio Gor, Minister Piyush Goyal, and Jane Fraser. India is a powerhouse of innovation and growth, a key market for Citi. India is a dynamic economy with demographic dividend, digital revolution, infrastructure transformation, and policy reform. That said, we are in turbulent times with the Middle East crisis and AI revolution. However, at Citi we are firm believers in the long-term future of India. In the past few years, India has consolidated its fiscal balance sheet, banks are in excellent health, corporate earnings strong. India is more resilient today than five or ten years back. India has built advanced digital public infrastructure. That foundation drives digital and AI readiness, creating a multi-decade consumer growth story. India remains a bright spot with multifaceted investment opportunities. For over a century, Citi has been at the heart of India's economic journey. We have 35,000 colleagues in India managing critical functions. As we gear up to celebrate 125 years in India, we are committed to deepening these relationships. Over the next two days, we will explore opportunities. Thank you all for being here.

Host 8:13 ↗

Thank you, Amol, for those inspirational opening remarks. I would now like to invite on stage our keynote speaker for the day, Mr. C.S. Setty, Chairman of the State Bank of India, a distinguished leader. As he sheds light on the role of banking in driving India's growth story for the 2047 vision, we request you to share your questions through Slido. Moderating the Q&A will be Anuradha Chaudhary, head of Financial Institutions Business at Citi India. Over to you, Mr. Setty.

Challa Setty 8:59 ↗

Before I go to my written speech, thanks to Citi for this opportunity. I have been at SBI for 37 years. I joined in 1988 when banking was dominated by public sector banks. I recall the early days of computerization — the government called it mechanization and gave a 'computer increment' to overcome resistance. Later, a district collector asked me for a clean overdraft, which I could not give. That shows how far we have come. Today, banking plays a crucial role in India's progress. India aspires to be a developed nation by 2047 with per capita income of $10,000. India is emerging as one of the defining growth stories of the 21st century. The most remarkable aspect is the ability to deliver transformation at scale. Banking has been a critical partner in nation-building. India's digital public infrastructure, especially UPI, handles 200 billion transactions annually; SBI handles 30% of that. Financial inclusion has expanded dramatically: microfinance borrowers have increased from 33 million to 63 million, 95% women. Banks have supported infrastructure, manufacturing, and agriculture. Looking ahead, we need to focus on rural prosperity, urban transformation, investing in people, and manufacturing. The financing required is unprecedented — estimated 200 trillion rupees by 2030. Banks must evolve: embrace technology, AI, green finance, and maintain governance. India is well-positioned. Thank you, and Jai Hind. I'll take a few questions.

Yes.

Anuradha Chaudhary 25:55 ↗

Yes, sure. Thank you, Mr. Setty, for sharing your personal story and the pillars for India's Vision 2047. Several questions coming in. One common theme is around digital public infrastructure. How do you see the relationship between traditional banks, fintechs, and emerging technologies like AI?

Challa Setty 26:54 ↗

I believe India will provide the largest use cases and become the biggest beneficiary of AI. The microcosm is financial services. We are early adopters of AI; we launched pre-approved personal loans using AI. Responsible AI is key. We have 530 million customers, from ultra-low income to ultra-high net worth. AI will enable hyper-personalization at scale.

Anuradha Chaudhary 29:20 ↗

Thank you. On a related note, we spoke about inclusion. Questions around growth being led by public spending, not private. Jobs not increasing, AI may diminish job openings. Any thoughts?

Challa Setty 29:54 ↗

Capital investment globally has led to automation, but India has a strong services sector. In IT, 99% of workforce are engineers who can be reskilled. We need skilled manpower to deploy AI. India has proven it can pivot, from BPO to global capability centers. Productivity gains will create more jobs.

Anuradha Chaudhary 31:48 ↗

On a related subject, with global trends in cryptocurrencies, where do you see that with the financial ecosystem?

Challa Setty 32:02 ↗

Currently, India is not focusing on crypto but on central bank digital currency. CBDC needs repurposing; for example, programmable CBDC for direct benefit transfer. Focus is on CBDC, not other digital currencies.

10 more exchanges in this transcript

Cite this transcript

APA, MLA, BibTeX

APA

Setty, C. (2026, June 2). Citi India Conference 2026: Keynote Address by SBI Chairman Challa Sreenivasulu Setty [Interview transcript]. moneycontrol. CEOInterviews.AI. https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/1055048/

MLA

Challa Setty. "Citi India Conference 2026: Keynote Address by SBI Chairman Challa Sreenivasulu Setty." moneycontrol, 2 Jun. 2026. Transcript, CEOInterviews.AI, https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/1055048/.

BibTeX

@misc{setty2026_1055048,
  author       = {Challa Setty},
  title        = {Citi India Conference 2026: Keynote Address by SBI Chairman Challa Sreenivasulu Setty},
  howpublished = {Interview transcript, moneycontrol. CEOInterviews.AI},
  year         = {2026},
  month        = {jun},
  url          = {https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/1055048/},
  note         = {Speaker-attributed transcript with timestamps}
}

▶

Key Quotes (2)

“Based on internal assessments, India may require incremental investments of nearly 200 trillion rupees by 2030, another 400 to 450 trillion rupees by FY35 across infrastructure, manufacturing, energy transition, urban development, MSMEs, and innovation.”

▶ 22:29 POLICY

“Both from a regulatory point of view as well as the government point of view, India is not focusing on the crypto. But we are seriously focusing on the central bank digital currency. Both in the retail segment as well as wholesale segment. While CBDC definitely requires some kind of repurposing in the sense that in a very matured payment ecosystem, CBDC positioning as a payment mechanism is not go”

▶ 32:02 CONTROVERSIAL POLICY

Mentioned in this interview

Citi: Host of the conference; Setty thanked Citi for the opportunity.

UPI: India's digital payment system handling 200 billion transactions annually.

Make in India: Setty discussed manufacturing challenges and PLI success in electronics.

PLI: Production-linked incentive scheme successful in electronics, per Setty.

Taiwan: Mentioned as having a stock market cap that surpassed India's.

Korea: Mentioned as another country whose stock market cap surpassed India's.

Earlier, on the same topics

“I think we have witnessed a good credit growth post-COVID. It is also because I think there was a pent-up demand. It is also a fact that much of that credit growth also had come from the retail personal credit growth, whether it could be unsecured personal loans or home loans. Home loan is a very im”

Dec 27, 2024 at 14:41 →

“Artificial intelligence will be a defining force in this transformation having the potential to significantly enhance risk management, improve operational efficiency and enable a real-time market surveillance. By analyzing vast data sets of historical transactions, counterparty behavior and market c”

artificial intelligence · May 07, 2026 at 6:39 →

“the confidence mainly coming from the fact that we have very robust pipeline it's in fact the pipeline has increased over the last year. Today we have almost 7.2 lakh cr visibility of the corporate book both in terms of the sanction loans but not dispersed and also the pipeline of proposals under di”

loan growth · Aug 08, 2025 at 3:25 →

“So the current action itself shows that India is almost the central bank has decoupled itself else from the overall Fed actions and I think it's driven more by the central bank's focus or maybe the refocus on the growth. I think the stance is very clear they are emboldened by the fact that the infla”

Jun 06, 2025 at 4:19 →

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Also at State Bank of India

Rama AmaraManaging Director

About Challa Setty

Challa Sreenivasulu Setty, Chairman of the State Bank of India (SBI), has been active in public discussions on monetary policy, banking sector performance, and the role of technology in finance. In an October 2026 interview with CNBC-TV18 following a Reserve Bank of India (RBI) rate hike, Setty said that the next two to three quarters would likely be beneficial for bank margins due to the repricing of EBLR loans, and he did not foresee significant increases in deposit rates given available liquidity. He also expressed confidence that asset quality would hold up across the banking system, noting that while there could be seasonal variations in agricultural credit, he saw no major risks to retail portfolios. On deposit rates, he stated that they are not only demand-driven but also serve as compensation to customers, and that inflationary expectations would be a key factor in future decisions. Setty has also spoken extensively about artificial intelligence in banking. At the Global Fintech Fest in September 2026, he described agentic AI as a tool that could "democratize financial intelligence" by extending personalized financial assistance to hundreds of millions of customers. He emphasized the need for affordable AI computing models for India's scale and argued that trust must be embedded in autonomous systems, noting that errors could amplify at machine speed. At the FIBAC 2026 conference, he said the next wave of AI banking should reach rural India and small businesses, and stressed the importance of explainability and human accountability in consequential decisions. Additionally, in an August 2026 interview with PTI, Setty discussed SBI's "Vision 2030," projecting that the bank's total business could reach 200 lakh crore by 2030, and outlined goals to maintain a CET1 ratio of 12% and reduce cost-to-income ratios. He also addressed the influx of FCNR(B) deposits, stating that the surplus liquidity would be consumed in four to five months and would support credit deployment.

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