[ Litem Eshi Ori ]
ITANAGAR, 15 Oct: The Arunachal Christian Forum (ACF) has welcomed the State Bank of India's (SBI) decision to resolve an anomaly in its online banking application and customer-onboarding/KYC system that reportedly prevented Christian customers belonging to Scheduled Tribes (ST) of Arunachal Pradesh from selecting the appropriate category.
In an official letter dated 14 October, 2026, the regional manager, SBI, regional business office, Itanagar, confirmed that the issue raised by the forum in its representation had been fully resolved. The bank stated that its IT team had implemented the necessary modifications to the validation logic across both the YONO and re-KYC platforms.
Following the correction, customers will now be able to select 'Scheduled Tribe (ST)' under the category field while choosing 'Christian' under the religion field.
The development follows the ACF's 6 October representation to the SBI regional manager, Itanagar, urging the bank to examine and rectify the reported technical anomaly. The forum had expressed concern that selecting Christianity in the banking applications reportedly directed eligible tribal Christian customers towards the 'general' category instead of allowing them to select their appropriate Scheduled Tribe status.
In its representation, the ACF had said that the classification of Scheduled Tribe customers should not be determined solely by their religious affiliation.
It had also sought clarification regarding the legal, statutory, regulatory or Reserve Bank of India (RBI) instructions, if any, governing the reported software restriction.
The forum had urged the SBI to correct the software logic and issue appropriate instructions to its branches across Arunachal Pradesh to ensure that customers holding valid ST certificates were not incorrectly classified during the KYC or customer-onboarding process.
Welcoming the bank's response, the ACF said the resolution is a positive outcome of its representation and engagement with the banking authorities. The forum's intervention aimed to ensure that eligible Christian members of Scheduled Tribe communities could correctly record their religion and category in the bank's digital systems.
In its communication, SBI acknowledged the forum's initiative in bringing the matter to its notice and appreciated the constructive cooperation extended by the organisation throughout the process.
The ACF appreciated the SBI's response and the corrective measures taken by its IT team. The resolution is expected to facilitate a smoother customer-onboarding and KYC experience for affected customers.
The development also highlights the importance of timely institutional intervention in addressing technical discrepancies that may affect citizens' access to essential banking services.