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The Bank spent Rs. 421.66 crore during FY26 and transferred Rs. 108.45 crore to the Unspent CSR Account for eligible ongoing projects.

MUMBAI (India CSR): Axis Bank reported a total CSR obligation of Rs. 529.49 crore for FY 2025-26, calculated as 2% of its average net profit of Rs. 26,474.59 crore under Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013. During the year, the Bank spent Rs. 421.66 crore, including programme expenditure, administrative overheads and impact assessment costs. It also transferred Rs. 108.45 crore to the Unspent CSR Account for ongoing projects. Together, these two components total Rs. 530.11 crore, resulting in an excess of Rs. 0.62 crore over the statutory obligation, available for set-off in succeeding financial years.

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Axis Bank’s CSR spending increased by 24.1%, rising from Rs. 427 crore in FY 2024-25 to Rs. 530 crore in FY 2025-26.

Axis Bank CSR Spending at a Glance

Source: Axis Bank Integrated Annual Report 2025-26, Annexure 4, pp. 237-238.

Why the Rs. 530.11 Crore Figure Needs Context

The Rs. 530.11 crore figure should not be read as cash expenditure made entirely within FY26. The statutory CSR report records Rs. 421.66 crore as total amount spent for the financial year. A further Rs. 108.45 crore was transferred on 17, 18, 20 and 21 April 2026 to the Unspent CSR Account, to be utilised for ongoing projects as permitted under Section 135. This distinction is important for transparent CSR reporting: the transfer enables the Bank to meet its obligation while preserving funds for approved multi-year interventions.

CSR Strategy and Governance

Axis Bank says its CSR philosophy is to make meaningful and measurable contributions to inclusive, equitable and sustainable development. Its focus areas include sustainable livelihoods, education, financial inclusion and literacy, environmental sustainability, humanitarian support and relief. The CSR Committee of the Board, chaired by an Independent Director, held five meetings during FY26. The Bank reported that no revision was made to its CSR Policy during the year.

Impact and Programme Highlights

The Bank’s integrated report says its focused CSR initiatives impacted over 21 lakh lives during fiscal 2026. Its Sustainable Livelihoods Program reached more than 7 lakh households in the year, while the cumulative Mission 4 Million programme has reached 2.76 million rural households across 33,517 villages in 32 states. The Bank also reported the plantation of about 4.16 million trees across nine geographies in India as of March 2026.

• Financial inclusion: CSR-led financial inclusion and literacy work facilitated enrolment of about 20,797 people under Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana and 16,064 under Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana across five states.
• Education and learning: The Bank supported initiatives ranging from financial literacy to inclusive STEAM learning. An impact-assessed grant of Rs. 5 crore helped develop the Museum of Solutions in Mumbai, which had recorded more than 1.8 lakh visitors since inception, including over 60,000 children.
• Climate resilience and livelihoods: A solar cold-storage initiative across 16 locations in Nagaland, supported by a Rs. 5.21 crore CSR outlay, helped farmers reduce post-harvest losses and improve market timing.
• Healthcare and relief: The Bank’s supported paediatric cardiac surgery programme treated 175 children from economically vulnerable families, with a reported CSR outlay of Rs. 2.62 crore.

Impact Assessment and Accountability

Axis Bank conducted third-party impact assessments of eligible projects across financial literacy and inclusion, humanitarian relief, healthcare and nutrition, environmental sustainability, and education. The assessments were aligned with the OECD-DAC framework and used methods such as surveys, interviews, focus-group discussions and field observations. This adds an outcome-oriented layer to CSR governance, going beyond spend disclosure to examine relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact and sustainability.

Previous Unspent CSR Position

The Bank disclosed that the balance amount remaining in the Unspent CSR Account from FY25 was Rs. 0.03 crore. The statutory report records that Rs. 139.62 crore was spent in FY26 against amounts transferred from FY25, while the remaining Rs. 0.03 crore is to be spent in succeeding financial years. No deficiency was reported for the preceding three financial years shown in the annexure.

India CSR View

Axis Bank’s FY26 disclosure presents a sizeable and compliance-aligned CSR programme, with strong emphasis on livelihoods, financial capability, education, healthcare and climate resilience. The data also underlines the value of reading CSR numbers with statutory context. The Bank’s Rs. 421.66 crore annual spend and Rs. 108.45 crore transfer to the Unspent CSR Account have different accounting treatment, but together they covered Rs. 530.11 crore against the Rs. 529.49 crore obligation. For readers evaluating corporate social responsibility performance, the clearest lens is therefore a combination of expenditure, ongoing-project commitments, governance and independently assessed outcomes.

Primary source: Axis Bank Integrated Annual Report 2025-26, Board’s Report, Annexure 4 – Annual Report on Corporate Social Responsibility Activities, particularly printed pages 230-238. Figures are stated as disclosed by the Bank.

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