How SBI warriors battled covid-19 at their Global IT Centre

Sunita Handa, CGM - IT Channels & Operations, at State Bank of India, narrates how the bank prepared its manpower and technology to meet the unprecedented crisis caused by COVID-19:

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Sunita Handa avers that banks are the most important channel to deliver the government’s relief packages, which they must facilitate with efficient tech operations and systematic branch operations

Manoj Agrawal: Outbreak of the life-threatening COVID-19 and the nationwide lockdown to contain its exponential spread: what did it mean for the Global IT Centre of State Bank of India, India’s largest bank?

Sunita Handa: Banking is categorized as an essential service. In all phases of the lockdown, banks were expected to provide uninterrupted services to their customers through their branch and non-branch channels. While the medical and police personnel are trained and equipped to work in such circumstances, the same is not true for bankers. They had to learn by themselves the dos & don’ts for the situation, wholeheartedly work towards the BCCP, or Business Continuity with Change Planning, and run the show courageously, calmly, and as seamlessly as possible. In these difficult times, the Global IT Centre (GITC) had to enable SBI’s brave corona warriors manning the branch and CSP counters to deliver efficiently, by keeping all the systems up and running. The nonbranch/digital channels, apart from being convenient, are ‘healthy’ options for bank transactions. These channels must run non-stop, whatever be the obstacles.

Further, for the government to deliver its relief packages to the target groups, be it the financial inclusion customers or the MSMEs, the single most important channel is the banks, which must facilitate this with efficient tech operations and systematic branch operations.

For SBI, being a leader in all of the above, it was absolutely essential to strengthen the safety net and backups of human and tech resources at our GITC.