SBI’s Training Hub Went Solar. That Was Our Big Entry Into the Bank.
Not a branch office. Gurukul — SBI’s training campus. When that hub went solar with Su-Kam, we were inside India’s largest bank in a big way.
By Kunwer Sachdev · CEO & Managing Director, Su-Kam (at the time) · Founder 1988–2018 · Published September 28, 2026 · Historical era: ~100 kWp campus solar · Dollar Business interview era · FB #WednesdayWisdom Feb 2018
External media — The Dollar Business (Kunwer Sachdev interview): names State Bank Academy in Gurgaon (100 kWp) with PEC, Delhi Jal Board, HUDA metro. Su-Kam brochure: 100 kWp rooftop at SBI Academy. Official institute: SBI — State Bank Academy Gurugram.
Why the Training Hub Was the Real Prize
Under my leadership as CEO & MD, Su-Kam solarised State Bank Academy — Gurukul, Gurugram — the apex training campus of State Bank of India. That was our entry into SBI in a big way. Not because we put panels on one branch. Because we put them on the place where the bank trains its people.
Every large institution has a hierarchy of roofs. A local office is a job. A training hub is a signal. Officers from across India walk that campus. When they see solar on every flat roof, they carry the brand back to circles and regions. That is why I still frame SBI Academy as bigger than the kilowatt count.
What We Put on Record — 100 kWp, Campus Scale
In The Dollar Business, answering how Su-Kam was contributing to India’s solar mission, I named the institutional list myself: PEC’s megawatt, and similar systems in offices — including State Bank Academy in Gurgaon (100 kWp), Delhi Jal Board, HUDA metro. The company brochure repeats the line: 100 kWp rooftop at SBI Academy, Gurgaon. That is the capacity spine.
On the founder essays I have already written, I said we cut the academy’s electricity bill by nearly 70%. Treat that as the operating claim we carried for the training campus — not a third-party audit reprinted here. The pictures tell the rest: arrays across the complex, not a token strip on one wing.
Gurukul — Where SBI Forms Its Officers
SBI’s own page describes State Bank Academy as an apex training institute — credit, international banking, risk and compliance, research — on a sprawling Gurugram campus (Sector 18 institutional area). ISO-certified. Green-building framing. That is who chose Su-Kam solar under my watch. When India’s largest bank’s training hub runs on your rooftops, you are not a vendor chasing branches. You are inside the brand that trains the bank.
Same Map as EIL — Different Door
EIL Sector 16 was the Navratna consultant roof — government-projects prestige. SBI Academy was the banking training-campus roof — financial-sector prestige. Both Gurugram. Both under the same CEO & MD. One opens engineering tenders; the other opens the bank that still defines Indian retail finance. After PEC’s megawatt and Clay Craft’s Jaipur factory roof, this is how we kept proving Su-Kam could solarise institutions that matter.
These Projects Gave Me the Name
I did not wake up one morning and invent a title. All these projects gave me the name Solar Man of India — PEC on an engineering campus, EIL on a Navratna consultant’s R&D roof, Clay Craft on Jaipur’s first big commercial bet, SBI Academy on the training hub of India’s largest bank, and the wider map of institutions we solarised under my watch as CEO & MD. Inverter Man was the first chapter. Solar Man of India was earned roof by roof. This page is one of those roofs.
What I Want on Record
Kunwer Sachdev — CEO & MD of Su-Kam. Solarised State Bank Academy (Gurukul), Gurugram — SBI’s apex training hub — Su-Kam’s big entry into SBI. Capacity spine: 100 kWp (Dollar Business interview under my name; Su-Kam brochure). Operating claim in founder essays: nearly 70% bill cut. Founder framing: together with EIL, PEC, Clay Craft and the institutional map, these projects are how he earned the name Solar Man of India. Archive: campus aerials, rooftop panels, Facebook #WednesdayWisdom gate creative.
Verified Sources
- The Dollar Business — Kunwer Sachdev interview (names State Bank Academy Gurgaon 100 kWp)
- Su-Kam brochure PDF — 100 KWp Rooftop Solar Power Plant in SBI Academy, Gurgaon
- KunwerSachdev.com — Solar projects (SBI Academy / ~70% bill cut)
- SBI — State Bank Academy Gurugram (official training institute page)
- Facebook — #WednesdayWisdom SBI Academy solar powered
- Companion — EIL Gurugram 90 kWp (Navratna prestige)
- Companion — PEC Chandigarh ~1 MW
Related
- EIL Gurugram — Navratna roof
- PEC Chandigarh ~1 MW
- Patiala Shivalik — first grid-tied school
- Facebook Archive — SBI Academy #WednesdayWisdom
FAQ
What was the SBI Academy solar project?
Under Kunwer Sachdev as CEO & MD, Su-Kam solarised State Bank Academy (Gurukul), Gurugram — the apex training institute of State Bank of India. Contemporary company materials and a Dollar Business interview with Kunwer Sachdev name a 100 kWp installation at State Bank Academy in Gurgaon.
Why does he call it a big entry into SBI?
Because this was not a branch rooftop — it was SBI’s training hub, where officers from across the bank are formed. Winning that campus was a prestige door into India’s largest bank. Founder framing: entry into SBI in a big way.
What bill-savings claim appears in founder essays?
KunwerSachdev.com and the solarmanofindia story chapter say the academy’s electricity bill was cut by nearly / almost 70%. Treat that as founder-era claim alongside the 100 kWp capacity cited in Dollar Business and Su-Kam brochure material.
Is there Facebook archive media?
Yes. The #WednesdayWisdom creative (gate sign ‘State Bank Academy Gurukul Gurgaon’ + aerial campus with rooftop arrays) is in this site’s fb-archive, with additional campus aerial and rooftop panel photos used on this page.
How does this sit next to EIL?
EIL was the Navratna engineering-consultant roof that opened institutional doors. SBI Academy was the banking-sector training-campus win — different prestige lane, same era of Su-Kam proving itself on national-brand campuses under Kunwer Sachdev.
How does this relate to the name Solar Man of India?
Kunwer Sachdev’s founder framing: institutional solar wins — PEC, EIL, SBI Academy, Clay Craft and the wider campus map — are what gave him the public name Solar Man of India. Not a slogan invented in a studio; a name earned project by project.
Historical Documentation Notice:
This article documents historical innovations and installations executed under the leadership of Kunwer Sachdev during his tenure as Founder & Managing Director of Su-Kam Power Systems Ltd. (1988–2018). Kunwer Sachdev exited the company in 2019 under the IBC process and holds no association, affiliation, or liability with Su-Kam Power Systems Ltd. or its subsequent management.
