S2E9: Building Viksit Bharat — How Regional Rural Banks Are Driving Financial Inclusion with Technology

In this episode of Convin Conversations, Ashish Santhalia sits down with Prakash Chandra Baror, General Manager at State Bank of India and Director on the Board of multiple Regional Rural Banks (RRBs).

With over 31 years at SBI, Prakash has witnessed — and led — one of the biggest transformations in Indian banking. From physically computerizing branches in the 1990s to now overseeing technology adoption and financial inclusion across rural India, his journey mirrors the evolution of Indian banking itself.

Today, he operates at the intersection of India’s largest bank and its most underserved population — rural customers across villages, agricultural communities, and last-mile geographies.

This episode dives into:

• How Regional Rural Banks power financial inclusion
• The operational realities of serving rural India
• The role of DBT and socio-economic upliftment
• Technology adoption across RRBs
• Whether AI voice automation can bridge India’s language and literacy gaps
• And how RRBs contribute to the vision of Viksit Bharat by 2047

Key Discussion Points Include:

• Prakash’s 31-year journey at SBI — from IT project officer to GM
• Leading SBI’s apex training institute and preparing bankers for the digital future
• Unique challenges of serving rural vs urban banking customers
• Delivering customer service across remote geographies and language diversity
• Technology implementation across nine Regional Rural Banks
• The role of DBT in financial inclusion
• Whether AI voice automation can work in rural India
• How RRBs will contribute to Viksit Bharat

Key Insights Include:

• Financial inclusion is not a metric — it’s nation-building.
• Rural banking requires trust-first engagement, not app-first design.
• Language diversity makes voice a critical channel in rural India.
• Automation must adapt to literacy levels and infrastructure realities.
• AI voice bots can handle high-volume queries like balance checks, loan status, and reminders — especially in regional languages.
• Technology in rural banking must be inclusive, accessible, and human-supported.

Who Should Watch This Episode

This episode is a must-watch for:

• BFSI leaders working on financial inclusion
• Banking professionals in rural and semi-urban markets
• Policy thinkers interested in Viksit Bharat
• AI and voice automation leaders exploring Bharat-scale deployment
• Anyone interested in how technology can bridge socio-economic gaps