ThunderPlus Raises ₹3 Crore Debt from SBI to Scale EV Charging Infrastructure

• Deploying capital with precision to accelerate high-demand expansion and maximize utilization-driven returns.

ThunderPlus, one of India’s fastest-growing EV charging infrastructure companies, has secured ₹3 Crore in structured institutional debt funding from the State Bank of India under the Government of India’s CGTMSE framework. With this milestone, ThunderPlus becomes the first profitable Charge Point Operator (CPO) in India to receive institutional bank debt, a strong validation of a model built on financial discipline, operational efficiency, and utilization-led growth.

 

Founded in January 2024, ThunderPlus adopted a differentiated expansion strategy in a sector often characterized by high capital burn. Instead of prioritizing rapid footprint growth, the company focused on demand density, corridor connectivity, and strong unit economics. This disciplined approach enabled ThunderPlus to close FY24–25 with ₹10+ Crore in revenue and positive EBITDA, a rare achievement in India’s EV charging landscape. The company has since surpassed its first-year performance and is on track to close ₹16 Crore in revenue by March 2026, reflecting a sustained 60% growth trajectory while maintaining profitability.

The ₹3 Crore SBI facility followed comprehensive institutional due diligence, including detailed financial scrutiny, operational assessment, cash-flow validation, and long-term business model evaluation. The approval signals increasing institutional confidence that EV charging infrastructure, when built with governance and execution rigour, can qualify as a bankable and scalable infrastructure asset class.

It is very inspiring to witness the journey of ThunderPlus. What makes it even more remarkable is that this organization is based right here in Hyderabad and is fundamentally very strong. SBI is very proud to support ThunderPlus in its growth, and we look forward to actively participating in and contributing to this incredible growth story even more — Srinivasu Pamu, Asst General Manager, Commercial Branch Secunderabad.

This is not just funding it is institutional validation. From day one, we focused on building a charging network rooted in profitability, operational efficiency, and responsible capital deployment. In a sector often perceived as capital-heavy and burn-driven, we chose disciplined growth supported by strong utilization and governance standards. We thank all our customers, partners & stakeholders for trusting us. This is just the beginning as we are continuing our conversations with other PEs and VC firms. The depth of due diligence undertaken by SBI reinforces our confidence in our systems, financial discipline, and long-term execution capability. We are building an infrastructure business designed to endure.” — Rajeev YSR, Executive Director & CEO, ThunderPlus.

The funds will be deployed toward:

• Expanding charging infrastructure along high-demand corridors
• Increasing ultra-fast charging capacity
• Optimizing working capital cycles
• Strengthening strategic ecosystem partnerships

ThunderPlus will continue to follow its measured expansion philosophy, ensuring each deployed asset enhances utilization and unit-level profitability before scaling further.

Beyond financial performance, ThunderPlus is also driving measurable environmental impact:

• Dispenses ~16,000 units of clean energy daily
• Enables nearly 60 million green kilometres annually
• Offsets ~10,000 metric tonnes of CO₂ each year
• Equivalent to planting ~300,000 trees

With institutional backing now secured and consistent profitability demonstrated, ThunderPlus stands at the forefront of India’s evolving EV infrastructure ecosystem setting a new benchmark for bankability, governance, and sustainable growth.

CHAKRA: SBI’s New Centre of Excellence to Mobilize $1.09 Trillion Investment in Emerging Technologies by 2030

State Bank of India (SBI), the nation’s largest public sector bank, announced the launch of ‘CHAKRA’ – Centre of Excellence (CoE) for financing sunrise sectors that are critical to India’s economic transformation. Reinforcing the bank’s strategic commitment to Viksit Bharat 2047, the centre will serve as a knowledge-led platform to enable financing for next-generation, technology-driven and sustainability-focused sunrise sectors.

SBI’s focus lies in enabling these capital-intensive sectors by directing capital flows responsibly, strengthening risk assessment capabilities and developing innovative financing structures aligned with evolving business models and policy priorities.

The Centre was inaugurated by Shri M. Nagaraju, Secretary, Department of Financial Services, in the presence of SBI Chairman, Shri Challa Sreenivasulu Setty. The Bank’s Managing Directors, and representatives from other Public Sector Banks and global banks, leading conglomerates, financial institutions, industry bodies and other key ecosystem participants were also present at the launch event.

On the launch, Shri M Nagaraju, Secretary, Department of Financial Services, Govt. of India said —

The CHAKRA Centre of Excellence is a commendable initiative by State Bank of India. The vision of the Centre to become a coordinated ecosystem platform covering knowledge-sharing, project appraisal, capacity building, and evidence-based policy engagement will meaningfully accelerate India’s progress towards Viksit Bharat 2047.”

The Centre proposes to focus on eight sunrise sectors viz. Renewable Energy, Advanced Cell Chemistry & Battery Storage, Electric Mobility, Green Hydrogen, Semiconductors, Decarbonisation, Smart Infrastructure, and Data Centre Infrastructure, that are emerging as key drivers of India’s economic future. By 2030, these eight sunrise sectors are expected to entail capital investment of over INR100 lakh crore (≈ $1.09 Trillion). The Centre will work towards enabling this massive investment.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Challa Sreenivasulu Setty, Chairman, State Bank of India, said —

India’s growth over the coming decades will be anchored in innovation, sustainability and advanced manufacturing. With CHAKRA, SBI is strengthening its institutional capability to understand emerging sectors, design specialised financing solutions and partner with the ecosystem to enable projects that meaningfully contribute to the nation’s development journey. The Centre of Excellence reinforces SBI’s leadership in new-age technologies and climate finance, enhancing India’s integration into the global value chain, and accelerating progress toward Viksit Bharat 2047.

CHAKRA will drive tangible outcomes through white papers, sector reports, knowledge series, industry roundtables and policy dialogues, supporting informed decision-making for clients, investors, and policymakers. The Centre will facilitate structured engagement with development finance institutions, multilateral agencies, banks, NBFCs, industry bodies, corporates, start-ups, academia and policy think-tanks. Through CHAKRA, State Bank of India aims to build strong capabilities, support innovation‑focused enterprises, and improve the flow of capital to sectors driving India’s sustainable and technology-led future. This initiative builds on the bank’s earlier Centre of Excellence for MSMEs at the State Bank Academy.

Jio Financial Services to Acquire Entire Stake of SBI in their JV Jio Payment Bank

Jio Financial Services Ltd (Jio Fin) is set to acquire the entire stake of State Bank of India (SBI) in their joint venture, Jio Payments Bank. This acquisition involves purchasing 7.9 crore shares from SBI for ₹104.5 crore.

As a result, Jio Fin's shareholding in Jio Payments Bank will increase from 82.17% to 100%, making it a wholly-owned subsidiary.

The deal is subject to approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and is expected to be completed within 45 days of receiving the necessary clearance. This move aligns with Jio Financial's strategy to expand its operations and strengthen its position in the financial services sector.

Initially founded as a joint venture between Jio Financial Services and SBI, Jio Payments Bank started its operations in April 2018 and has garnered 1.89 million CASA customers as of December 2024. Spun off from Reliance Industries in 2023, Jio Financial Services has been ramping up its operations and expanding its footprint in the financial services sector.

With this acquisition, Jio Financial Services aims to strengthen its position in the financial services market and enhance its digital financial solutions.

Following the announcement, shares of Jio Financial Services saw a surge of nearly 4%, reaching an intraday high of ₹208 on the BSE.

Jio Financial Services reported a consolidated profit of ₹295 crore for the third quarter ending in December 2024, marking a slight 0.3% increase year-on-year.
The company's assets under management (AUM) grew to ₹4,199 crore, up from ₹1,206 crore in the previous September quarter of FY25.

Notably, Jio Financial Services has been planning to set up a mutual fund business in collaboration with U.S.-based BlackRock. The company also introduced a pilot version of the 'JioFinance' app in May 2024, offering UPI, digital banking, and other related services.

This acquisition is a strategic move for Jio Financial Services to consolidate its position in the financial services sector and leverage its digital capabilities to offer a comprehensive range of financial products and services.

SBI and Hitachi Tie-up to Launch Digital Payment Platform

State Bank of India (SBI) and Hitachi Payment Services Pvt Ltd, a unit of Japan's Hitachi Ltd, have formed a joint venture (JV), SBI Payment Services Pvt Ltd (SBIPSPL) for establishing a digital payments platform for India and other countries in the region. a merchant acquiring.

This JV, which comprise 74% stake by SBI and rest by Hitachi, will facilitate expansion of the digital payments landscape in India by creating a state-of-the-art digital payments platform that will enable offering of innovative products to suit the requirement of all segment of merchants, leveraging the brand value and unparalleled distribution network of SBI and bringing Artificial Intelligence and other technological capabilities of Hitachi to SBIPSPL.

The JV is a result of SBI's exercise to sell its 26% shares in SBIPSPL. In October, SBI had shortlisted three companies - Hitachi, Worldline and First Data Corporation - for a JV in the Merchant Acquiring Business (MAB) and had proposed to transfer its business of deploying credit card swipe machines to the new entity.

Merchant Acquiring Business (MAB) refers to the mechanism of facilitating merchant payment for goods and services through the medium of a card and App based acceptance solutions.

Rajnish Kumar, Chairman, State Bank of India, said, “Through this joint venture, we aim to maintain our position as the top acquirer in the merchant digital payments space. We will also utilize business analytics to develop strategies to penetrate into hitherto untouched Indian towns and cities through merchant-centric digital payments solutions.”

Toshiaki Higashihara, President & CEO of Hitachi, Ltd., Japan, said “Hitachi’s joint venture with SBI, will further contribute to the development of digital payments in India by building a state-of-the-art digital payments platform and leveraging SBI’s robust customer network. This coincides with Hitachi’s vision to improve people’s lives by providing digital solutions in India and other countries.”

Since 2011, Hitachi Payment Services has been providing deployment, technology and management services for the card and digital acceptance payment network of SBI.

Source - CXO Today

SBI Says 'Its Risky', After No Investment Post 2 Yrs of Setting Up ₹200 Crore Startup Fund

In January 2016, India's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) had then setup a Rs.200 crore fund to invest in startups in the financial technology (Fintech) space. The bank however has not been able to invest in fintech startups even after over two years of announcing the 'Startup Fund'.

Now in a latest development in same, SBI is looking to modify rules for startup investments, said a report by Financial Express.

SBI chairman Rajnish Kumar told PTI, “We are a public institution and investments in startups are generally considered very risky. We understand that traditional way of investing will not work.”

The above statement came as surprise, as if SBI, as a public institution, believes that investing in startups is risky then why did bank announced the ₹200 crore startup fund in first place. Moreover, for a bank with a stature of being the largest bank in India and with over 2 lakhs employees (as on March 2017), it took SBI over two years of time to figure out that -- "investing in startups is RISKY".

Also Read - Amazon Leads $12 Mn Funding of Mumbai’s Insure-Tech Startup Acko

It is to be noted that the announcement of ₹200 crore startup fund was made by Arundhati Bhattacharya, who was chairman of SBI at that time, in January 2016.

In an event at Mumbai last weekend, Rajnish said the bank will be modifying the rules in order to plough-in the money. “We want to spend the money which we have earmarked,” Rajnish stressed, adding that it is keen to create more companies like online retailer Flipkart and ride sharing app Ola, which define the country’s prowess.

SBI chairman further said that the bank is also planning to invest ₹25 crore to set up a collaborative innovation centre in the satellite city of Navi Mumbai to promote latest technologies. The bank, which has 430 million customers or a third of the country’s population, has worked with over 150 startups till now on various cutting edge technologies including chatbot, data analytics, etc, according to SBI chairman.

Meanwhile, India has recently urged the Asian Development Bank to invest in health and fintech startups in the country, to help improve the quality of life in Asia while sharpening focus on infrastructure lending by ensuring loan disbursals within a year of request.


It may also be recalled that, in January 2016, SBI had opened a startup branch called InCube in Bengaluru which functions as a single point of contact for the startup account holders for their various banking and financial advisory related requirements.

SBI Launches InCube, Its First Exclusive Startup Bank Branch In Bengaluru

As we reported last week, State Bank of India (SBI) has officially announced today the openning of - SBI InCube, country's first specialised branch, exclusively for start-ups, in Bengaluru's St. Mark's Road.

SBI InCube branch is a specialised branch to understand and address your banking needs for setting up a startup.

[caption id="attachment_103154" align="aligncenter" width="700"] An Inside view of SBI Incube branch in Bengaluru[/caption]

SBI will roll out similar branches in other metros as well. SBI will provide advisory services to start-ups, help them open their accounts, meeting KYC requirements, forex assistance and provide them with a check list of things to do before starting their business.

"Introducing wealth management has been one of the bank's top strategic priorities, as we have a number of High Net worth Individuals (HNI)," the bank's chairman, Arundathi Bhattacharya, said.

The SBI Incube branch will offer the following:

• Experienced relationship managers, who know the exact solutions for your banking needs


• Comprehensive, competitively priced financial products and services


• Integrated online and mobile banking solutions to save your time & money


• Solutions that streamline receivables and payables and optimise cash conversion cycle.


• Limited advisory on investments, taxation and forex transactions that help optimise liquidity, capital preservation and return.

More Details - SBI startups presentation

SBI Launches InCube, Its First Exclusive Startup Bank Branch In Bengaluru

As we reported last week, State Bank of India (SBI) has officially announced today the openning of - SBI InCube, country's first specialised branch, exclusively for start-ups, in Bengaluru's St. Mark's Road.

SBI InCube branch is a specialised branch to understand and address your banking needs for setting up a startup.

[caption id="attachment_103154" align="aligncenter" width="700"] An Inside view of SBI Incube branch in Bengaluru[/caption]

SBI will roll out similar branches in other metros as well. SBI will provide advisory services to start-ups, help them open their accounts, meeting KYC requirements, forex assistance and provide them with a check list of things to do before starting their business.

"Introducing wealth management has been one of the bank's top strategic priorities, as we have a number of High Net worth Individuals (HNI)," the bank's chairman, Arundathi Bhattacharya, said.

The SBI Incube branch will offer the following:

• Experienced relationship managers, who know the exact solutions for your banking needs


• Comprehensive, competitively priced financial products and services


• Integrated online and mobile banking solutions to save your time & money


• Solutions that streamline receivables and payables and optimise cash conversion cycle.


• Limited advisory on investments, taxation and forex transactions that help optimise liquidity, capital preservation and return.

More Details - SBI startups presentation

SBI To Set Up Branch Exclusively For Startups In Bengaluru

State Bank of India (SBI), which is largest banking and financial services company in India by assets, has finally got attracted to India's burgeoning startup ecosystem. The bank will soon set up a first-of-its-kind branch to cater exclusively to the growing banking needs of start-ups.

The bank has chosen Bengaluru, India's own silicon valley, for setting up its dedicated branch for startups. Bengaluru is home to hundreds of start-ups, including Bigbasket, ZopNow, Pepperfry, Raodrunnr and Parcelled to name a few. The city also the headquarters of one-time startup and now e-commerce giant Flipkart.

Currently, SBI has specialised branches for large corporates, mid-corporates, and small and medium enterprises.

SBI Chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya said the branch will be piloted in Bengaluru and the bank will subsequently scale it up to other start-up hubs. According to a Nasscom-Zinnov report, by the end of 2015, the total funding by angel/venture capital/private equity investors in India-based start-ups was estimated to be nearly $5 billion, a jump of around 125 per cent over 2014.

The new exclusive-branch for startups will be set up to give banking and other services to startups. This branch will give startups the necessary infrastructure and facilities for meeting their banking needs.

Through these branches, the start-up branches, entrepreneurs will also be able to get advice on things such as registration of a company and tax issues.

In August last year, SBI partnered with iSPIRT to understand the broad changes in technology landscape globally and the specific catalysts in India impacting financial services.

SBI To Set Up Branch Exclusively For Startups In Bengaluru

State Bank of India (SBI), which is largest banking and financial services company in India by assets, has finally got attracted to India's burgeoning startup ecosystem. The bank will soon set up a first-of-its-kind branch to cater exclusively to the growing banking needs of start-ups.

The bank has chosen Bengaluru, India's own silicon valley, for setting up its dedicated branch for startups. Bengaluru is home to hundreds of start-ups, including Bigbasket, ZopNow, Pepperfry, Raodrunnr and Parcelled to name a few. The city also the headquarters of one-time startup and now e-commerce giant Flipkart.

Currently, SBI has specialised branches for large corporates, mid-corporates, and small and medium enterprises.

SBI Chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya said the branch will be piloted in Bengaluru and the bank will subsequently scale it up to other start-up hubs. According to a Nasscom-Zinnov report, by the end of 2015, the total funding by angel/venture capital/private equity investors in India-based start-ups was estimated to be nearly $5 billion, a jump of around 125 per cent over 2014.

The new exclusive-branch for startups will be set up to give banking and other services to startups. This branch will give startups the necessary infrastructure and facilities for meeting their banking needs.

Through these branches, the start-up branches, entrepreneurs will also be able to get advice on things such as registration of a company and tax issues.

In August last year, SBI partnered with iSPIRT to understand the broad changes in technology landscape globally and the specific catalysts in India impacting financial services.