State Bank of India (SBI), the country's largest lender, on Monday presented a dividend cheque of Rs 8,813 crore to the Central government for the financial year 2025-26. The dividend cheque was handed over to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman by SBI Chairman C.S. Setty.
The Finance Minister's Office shared the development on social media platform X, stating that FM Sitharaman received the dividend cheque from the SBI Chairman. “Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman receives a dividend cheque of Rs 8,813 crore for FY 2025-26 from C S Setty, Chairman of State Bank of India,” it said.
The dividend payout reflects the strong financial performance of the public sector banking giant and marks another significant contribution by SBI to the government's non-tax revenue receipts. The development comes at a time when SBI continues to play a central role in India's banking and digital payments ecosystem.
Under the leadership of C.S. Setty, the bank has highlighted India's strong macroeconomic fundamentals and long-term growth prospects despite global uncertainties. Earlier this month, Setty said that a pause in interest rates by the Reserve Bank of India's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) would help stabilise economic conditions and support economic growth.
Speaking at an industry event in Mumbai, he noted that while inflation trends remain important for policymakers, maintaining the status quo on rates at the current juncture would contribute to stable financial conditions and ensure smooth growth. “Broadly, the market expects that there could be a rate pause at this juncture.
Inflation dynamics remain important, but I think a pause would definitely help stabilise conditions and ensure smooth growth,” he said. In addition, the chairman of India’s largest lender urged investors to look beyond short-term movements in equity markets and focus on the nation’s long-term structural transformation driven by reforms in banking, digital infrastructure, financial inclusion and infrastructure development. “Do not look only at the Sensex… look at India as a long-term story,” he said.