SBI Unveils ‘CHAKRA’: A ₹100 Trillion Bet on India’s Sunrise Sectors

State Bank of India (SBI) has launched CHAKRA, a dedicated Centre of Excellence (CoE) focused on financing sunrise sectors that are expected to play a central role in India’s economic transformation over the coming years. 

CHAKRA Targets ₹100 trillion Sunrise Sector Investment pipeline 

The new platform will support funding across high-growth sectors including renewable energy, advanced cell chemistry and battery storage, semiconductors, decarbonisation, smart infrastructure and data centre infrastructure.  

According to SBI, the combined investment potential across these areas including both debt and equity  is estimated at around ₹100 trillion over the next 5 years. 

SBI chairman C S Setty said the bank sees a lendable opportunity of roughly ₹20–22 trillion in these segments over the same period, noting that such projects cannot rely purely on traditional debt funding models. 

“The debt capital required will probably be lower because these structures cannot be funded by debt capital alone,” said C S Setty, chairman, SBI,a s per news reports. 

MoUs Signed with 21 Financial Institutions for Co-financing 

To deepen sector expertise and risk-sharing, SBI has signed MoUs with 21 financial institutions whose project finance teams will work alongside SBI’s CHAKRA unit. The arrangement is designed to enable joint appraisal, co-financing and institutional capacity building. 

Participating institutions include Japanese banks such as SMBC and MUFG, along with domestic state-backed financiers including PFC, REC and NaBFID. The bank is also in discussions with European and American lenders for additional partnerships. 

“We are also part of the policy-making process in terms of financing these sectors, particularly the new risks associated with them, the emerging technologies, and how we build patient capital structures — not necessarily only through loans. This could involve mezzanine financing or bringing in other capital structures,” Setty said. 

Focus on Patient Capital and New Financing Structures 

SBI indicated that sunrise sector funding will increasingly require blended and patient capital structures rather than only deposit-backed lending.  

While stable savings and retail term deposits currently support project finance portfolios, the bank said wider participation from financial institutions will be necessary as household savings continue to financialise. 

CHAKRA will produce white papers, sector studies, knowledge series and policy dialogues, and will engage with DFIs, multilaterals, NBFCs, corporates, start-ups, academia and think tanks to strengthen financing frameworks. 

Category: Upcoming NFO: SBI Mutual Fund Launches SBI Quality Fund! 

SBI Share Price Performance  

As of February 01, 2026, at 12:50 PM, SBI share price is trading at ₹1,031.60 per share, reflecting a decline of 3.25% from the previous closing price.  

Conclusion 

Through CHAKRA, SBI aims to build specialised financing capability and accelerate capital flow into technology-led and sustainability-driven sectors. 

Disclaimer: This blog has been written exclusively for educational purposes. The securities mentioned are only examples and not recommendations. This does not constitute a personal recommendation/investment advice. It does not aim to influence any individual or entity to make inestment decisions. Recipients should conduct their own research and assessments to form an independent opinion about investment decisions.  

Investments in the securities market are subject to market risks, read all the related documents carefully before investing.