Hyderabad: SBI Foundation, CCMB set up centre of excellence

Hyderabad: State Bank of India chairman Dinesh Khara on Tuesday inaugurated the SBI Foundation Centre of Excellence for Genomics Guided Pandemic Prevention and handed over a cheque for Rs 9.94 crore to Dr Vinay Kumar Nandicoori, director, CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB). The event took place at SBI Staff College, Begumpet.

Speaking about the initiative, Khara said, "SBI Foundation is proud to be associated with CSIR-CCMB in the setting up of the centre of excellence to strengthen the country's genome sequencing capabilities and to provide invaluable data for understanding Covid thereby enabling making of informed, data-driven decisions in facing the challenges posed by the pandemic. He also said that "from past experience we all have learnt that time is the essence when it comes to fighting this deadly virus that continues to ravage the world."

Khara stated that the SBI Foundation is the CSR arm of the bank which was launched in 2015 to carry out its CSR activities as well as those of its subsidiaries. As CSR arm of the premier bank, the foundation aims to be the leading institution promoting growth and equality responsive to communities it serves, particularly the vulnerable and marginalised sections.

The event was also attended by O P Mishra, DMD & CDO, Corporate Centre, Mumbai; R Viswanathan DMD, IAD, Hyderabad; Manjula Kalyanasundaram, MD SBI Foundation, and other team members of the foundation team.