Editor,

I would like to draw the attention of the authorities and the general public to the deteriorating customer service at the State Bank of India (SBI), and a deeply concerning, discriminatory flaw within their digital ecosystem.

For the past two to three years, I have been unable to obtain an ATM card from my home branch (SBI Ganga Branch, Itanagar) due to a pending address change. For unknown reasons, no delivery attempts or calls were ever made to me. When I attempted to resolve this by updating my KYC and address through internet banking and the YONO app, my access was unexpectedly locked, making a physical branch visit mandatory.

To resolve this, I travelled all the way from Guwahati to Itanagar. While the branch staff quickly unlocked my internet banking, they refused to process my KYC and address update in person. Instead, they instructed me to do it online via the YONO app or internet banking portal. Trusting their guidance, I left the branch.

However, when I tried to update my address later that evening, the YONO app simply displayed a 'Coming Soon' message. I attempted the same through the website, only to meet the same dead end. It became evident that online KYC updates for address changes are currently non-functional in the SBI system.

Because of the staff's misguidance and the bank's digital failures, I am now forced to cancel my return train ticket to Guwahati and visit the branch yet again.

While navigating this frustrating digital portal, I discovered something far more worrisome. While trying to update my profile on the SBI YONO app, I noticed a systemic anomaly: if you select 'Christian' as your religion, the system entirely removes the option to choose 'ST' (Scheduled Tribe) in the category section. Conversely, if one selects 'Hindu' or 'Buddhist', the ST, SC, and OBC options appear normally.

This implies that, according to the State Bank of India's software, a Christian cannot be a Scheduled Tribe.

This is a gross misrepresentation of our identity. In Arunachal Pradesh, being an APST (Arunachal Pradesh Scheduled Tribe) is an ethnic and constitutional right, completely independent of one's religious faith. If indigenous Christians are forced by this flawed software to register under the 'General' category, the financial repercussions will be severe. For instance, we may be wrongfully subjected to tax deducted at source (TDS) on fixed deposits and other earnings, effectively stripping us of the vital tax exemptions rightfully granted to STs of the Northeast under Section 10(26) of the Income Tax Act.

I urge the higher authorities of the SBI to immediately rectify this categorical anomaly in their software architecture, so that indigenous Christians are not stripped of their constitutional ST status. Furthermore, the branch staff must be properly trained in the actual capabilities of their digital platforms, so that customers are not subjected to unnecessary harassment, travel expenses, and loss of time.

E Lombi,

Customer,

SBI Ganga branch,

Itanagar