SBI Chairman Challa Sreenivasulu Setty urges AI for rural banking
SBI Chairman Challa Sreenivasulu Setty is urging banks to use artificial intelligence (AI) not just for city folks, but to help make banking fairer and more accessible in rural India.
Speaking at the FIBAC 2026 conference, he said AI can support small businesses and farmers: key steps toward India's big goal of becoming a developed economy by 2047.
Setty envisions AI lending urges safeguards
Setty imagines a future where AI uses satellite images and digital records to help farmers without credit histories get loans more easily.
But he's also realistic: with more AI comes bigger cyber risks.
He emphasized the need for better security, transparency, and upskilling workers so that rural India, small businesses, farmers, borrowers who may not have conventional banking records, and financial institutions can actually benefit from these tech upgrades.