NEW DELHI (India CSR): Equitas Small Finance Bank Limited (Equitas SFB) has emerged as one of India’s most socially committed financial institutions. For FY 2024-25, the Bank showcased its philosophy of “Beyond Banking” by spending Rs 39.90 crores on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) projects. What makes this extraordinary is that it was more than 250% of its statutory obligation of Rs 15.73 crores. Instead of treating CSR as compliance, Equitas positioned it as part of its identity and long-term social mission. By exceeding the requirement by Rs 24.17 crores, Equitas set an example of how corporates can align profits with purpose. Its CSR programs, implemented through Equitas Development Initiatives Trust (EDIT) and Equitas Healthcare Foundation (EHF), touched thousands of lives by addressing healthcare, education, housing, livelihoods, and financial inclusion. This approach highlights how Equitas seeks to transform lives at the grassroots, especially for underserved and marginalized communities.

Key Facts: Equitas Small Finance Bank CSR Spending FY 2025

Category	Details (FY 2024-25)
Average Net Profit (3 Years)	Rs 786.63 crores
Statutory CSR Obligation (2%)	Rs 15.73 crores
Actual CSR Expenditure	Rs 39.90 crores
Excess Spend Beyond Mandate	Rs 24.17 crores
Capital Assets Created	17 (hospital equipment, school IT infrastructure, vocational training assets)
CSR Arm	Equitas Development Initiatives Trust (EDIT) & Equitas Healthcare Foundation (EHF)
Healthcare Impact	Sringeri Sharada Equitas Hospital: 19,190 OPD consultations, 4,100 admissions, 893 surgeries, 2,954 chemotherapy sessions
Livelihood Programs	37,000 women trained, 75,000+ individuals benefitted, 40,393 youth placed in jobs
Birds Nest Rehabilitation	1,609 families housed in FY 2025; 6,150 families cumulatively since inception
Education Initiatives	7,500+ children in 8 Equitas Gurukul schools benefitted
Women Empowerment	1,716 women entrepreneurs supported through 126 markets/exhibitions
Medical Camps	36 free medical camps benefitting 3,643 people
Governance	CSR aligned with 2025 ESG Policy under Board oversight

A Financial Commitment That Redefines Responsibility

Equitas SFB’s financial strategy for CSR stands out because of its scale and foresight. Under the Companies Act, 2013, the Bank was required to allocate Rs 15.73 crores for CSR in FY 2025, based on 2% of its three-year average profit. But the Bank voluntarily spent Rs 39.90 crores, more than double the obligation, creating an excess spend of Rs 24.17 crores. This isn’t a one-off gesture—Equitas follows a policy of dedicating 5% of its net profit to CSR every year. Key financial outcomes included 17 new capital assets like hospital medical equipment, IT infrastructure for schools, and vocational training facilities. These assets ensure the Bank’s investments have long-term impact. The numbers prove that CSR at Equitas is not compliance-driven but embedded into its values. By spending more than required, the Bank reinforced the belief that meaningful social development demands going well beyond the bare minimum.

Healthcare at the Core: Sringeri Sharada Equitas Hospital

One of Equitas’s most impactful interventions in FY 2025 was the Sringeri Sharada Equitas Cancer and Multi-Speciality Hospital (SSEH). This hospital, set up under the Equitas Healthcare Foundation, became fully operational during the year and delivered specialized healthcare to underserved communities. The results were significant: 19,190 OPD consultations, 4,100 admissions, 893 surgeries, and 2,954 chemotherapy sessions. In addition, 36 free health camps reached 3,643 people, offering cancer screening and general health checks. The Bank invested Rs 13.89 crores in advanced medical equipment, ensuring access to diagnostic and treatment facilities usually available only at premium hospitals. By combining affordability with quality, Equitas broke down barriers to healthcare for marginalized populations. The hospital is not just a facility—it represents dignity and equity in care. It is a cornerstone of Equitas’s CSR vision of creating community-based healthcare systems that make a difference for thousands of families every year.

Birds Nest Initiative: From Pavement to Dignity

The Birds Nest Project is a unique CSR program by Equitas that focuses on urban rehabilitation. It provides housing to pavement dwellers who otherwise live in unsafe and undignified conditions. In FY 2025, the Bank successfully shifted 1,609 families into safe housing. Since its inception, the project has benefitted 6,150 families, making it one of the most extensive transitional housing initiatives in India. Notably, the program expanded to Pune in June 2023, after years of impact in Chennai, widening its geographic footprint. Birds Nest is not only about giving shelter—it integrates financial literacy, employment support, and community-building so families don’t return to the streets. It provides dignity, safety, and a pathway to self-reliance. By focusing on one of the most vulnerable groups in urban India, Equitas has redefined what responsible banking means: extending opportunities for security and empowerment to those often ignored by mainstream development efforts.

Education: Equitas Gurukuls for Holistic Learning

Education continues to be a foundation of Equitas’s CSR strategy. Through its Equitas Gurukul schools, the Bank offers quality education to children from low-income households who often have limited access to learning opportunities. In FY 2025, nearly 7,500 students were enrolled across 8 Gurukuls. These schools not only provide academic instruction but also focus on extracurricular and character development, ensuring a holistic education experience. Investments were made in computers, furniture, and digital classrooms, improving learning outcomes in a modern environment. For many children, Gurukul schools provide the first step toward breaking the cycle of poverty. By nurturing future-ready students, Equitas equips disadvantaged communities with long-term opportunities for mobility and empowerment. This initiative reflects the Bank’s conviction that education is the single most powerful tool for transformation. The Gurukuls are not charity—they are a sustainable model of human capital development designed to create resilient communities.

Livelihood Programs: Enabling Financial Independence

Livelihoods are central to Equitas’s CSR mission, with a strong focus on women and youth. In FY 2025, 37,000 women were trained in trades such as tailoring, food processing, and handicrafts. Many began earning supplemental monthly incomes of Rs 500–2,000, improving family financial stability. To support women entrepreneurs, the Bank organized 126 exhibitions, benefitting 1,716 women by giving them direct market access. The larger livelihood ecosystem impacted over 75,000 individuals, providing skill training, placement assistance, and income opportunities. Youth were also a focus: 40,393 young adults secured jobs through placement-linked fairs, pushing the cumulative number of youth placed since inception to 3.29 lakh. These programs show Equitas’s belief that financial empowerment creates lasting dignity. By connecting training with real opportunities, the Bank is not just creating workers—it is creating entrepreneurs, professionals, and community leaders who will sustain economic growth in their households and communities.

Creating Community Assets for Lasting Change

Equitas went beyond programmatic interventions by investing in 17 capital assets in FY 2025. These include Rs 13.89 crores worth of medical equipment for its hospital, IT infrastructure for schools, and facilities for vocational training centres. Such assets are critical because they create durable impact—improving service delivery and ensuring long-term benefits for communities. Unlike short-term CSR activities, asset creation provides a base for sustainable change, helping institutions grow stronger and more resilient. For instance, medical equipment improves hospital operations for years, while digital infrastructure enhances education outcomes across multiple student cohorts. By consciously allocating resources toward physical and digital assets, Equitas ensures its CSR is not only about numbers spent but about value created over time. This focus distinguishes Equitas’s approach, turning financial contributions into tangible community wealth and reinforcing the principle that CSR should deliver measurable, sustainable, and lasting benefits.

Governance and ESG Alignment

CSR at Equitas is guided by strong governance structures. The Equitas Development Initiatives Trust (EDIT) and the Equitas Healthcare Foundation (EHF) implement most projects, ensuring professional execution and accountability. In 2025, Equitas adopted a comprehensive Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Policy, strengthening oversight and transparency. This framework is based on six pillars: Inclusion, Development, Environment, Governance, Financial Literacy, and Community Engagement. With ESG, Equitas ensures CSR activities align with long-term sustainability and national goals. Importantly, the Bank does not view CSR as charity but as social investment, and its governance structures ensure every rupee is used strategically. By embedding ESG, Equitas has set a benchmark for small finance banks, proving that scale and responsibility can coexist. The integration of governance into CSR ensures that these initiatives not only deliver impact today but also remain relevant, measurable, and effective for future generations.

Why Equitas’s CSR Model Stands Out

Beyond Compliance: Spending Rs 39.90 crores vs obligation of Rs 15.73 crores.
Healthcare Access: Hospital interventions brought specialized care to thousands of marginalized patients.
Inclusive Livelihoods: Programs reached women, youth, and marginalized families.
Housing with Dignity: Birds Nest transformed lives of pavement dwellers.
Education for Future: 7,500 children gained holistic education.
Governance: ESG-aligned CSR framework ensures accountability and transparency.

Equitas SFB’s CSR journey in FY 2025 proves that a financial institution can act as a social change catalyst, not just a credit provider.

You Learn

Equitas Small Finance Bank’s Rs 39.90 crores CSR spending in FY 2025—almost 2.5 times the required obligation—cements its position as a pioneer of socially conscious banking. With flagship programs like Sringeri Sharada Equitas Hospital, Birds Nest housing rehabilitation, Equitas Gurukul schools, and women’s livelihood initiatives, the Bank has gone far beyond compliance to create sustainable change.

As India strives toward inclusive growth, Equitas’s CSR philosophy of “Beyond Banking” offers a model for how financial institutions can reimagine their role—not merely as profit-makers, but as partners in social progress.