# SBI pushes alternative data for MSME credit assessment

2026-08-13T03:44:32+00:00 | Business & Economy | Indian Opinion Desk

Corroboration: 1 independent outlet

State Bank of India's managing director Ashwini Kumar Tewari has pitched for using alternative data such as power consumption and telecom records to assess MSME creditworthiness, citing that only 1 crore of 9 crore MSMEs are GST-registered. Speaking at the Fibac event, Tewari said lenders struggle to evaluate the large segment of unregistered businesses using only GST and banking data. He suggested routing alternative customer data through credit bureaus to build comprehensive borrower profiles, but noted that integrating multiple platforms is costly and automated models remain at an early stage due to insufficient historical data.

## Coverage

- rediff.com <https://www.rediff.com/business/report/sbi-md-pitches-alternative-data-for-msme-credit/20260811.htm>

Tags: alternative data, banking, credit assessment, GST registration, MSME lending, SBI
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