Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): SBI contributed Rs. 27 cr for CSR commitments in FY2019-20

In FY2019-20, the net profit of State Bank of India, the largest public sector bank, stood at Rs. 862 crore and 1% of the profit, that is, Rs. 8.62 crore has been budgeted as CSR fund for FY 2020. With the approval of RBI, Bank contributed a total of Rs. 27.47 crore for various initiatives under its CSR including donation of an amount of Rs. 9 Crore towards Chief Minister Relief Fund of various states and Rs. 12.38 crore to SBI Foundation (SBIF)., the annual report for the year 2019-20 said.

As part of our endeavour to fight the Covid-19 pandemic, while SBI staff members collectively donated Rs. 108 crore to the PM Cares Fund, the Bank also pledged Rs. 30 crore for COVID related CSR activities besides donating around 21000 PPE Kits to government hospitals.

“Social Responsibility is deeply ingrained in the culture of your Bank. Consequently, your Bank has been actively involved in CSR activity since 1973. The primary purpose of the Bank’s CSR philosophy is to make a meaningful and measurable impact on the lives of economically, physically and socially challenged communities of the country”, SBI annual report said.

The Bank’s CSR activities touch the lives of millions of the poor and needy across the length and breadth of the country. The focus areas of the Bank’s CSR activities include Healthcare, Education, Livelihood, Skill Development, Environment Protection of National Heritage, Empowerment of Women, Youth & Senior Citizens etc, the report said.

“As per the guidelines and mandate of Reserve Bank of India, State Bank of India is required to spend 1% of its profits on CSR. The offices of your Bank all across India have been carrying out various CSR activities to live up to the ethos of giving back to the society with the active engagement of its employees.”, report added.

SBI Foundation was established in 2015 to undertake the CSR activities of SBI Group and its subsidiaries in a focused manner and working on various projects to build a momentum for transforming India by creating an inclusive development paradigm that serves all Indians without any discrimination based on region, language, caste, creed, religion, etc. and ensure that each initiative creates a substantial change at the grassroots level.

The focus areas of your Bank’s CSR activities include Healthcare, Education, Livelihood, Skill Development, Environment Protection of National Heritage, Empowerment of Women, youth, and senior citizens, amongst others.