CSR in the Post Mandate Period of some selected Private Banks in India: A Review

Abstract

CSR has been recognised as a sustainable business strategy across the globe but ever since India legally mandated CSR from April 1, 2014, the concept of CSR gained momentum in our country. The eligible companies have to mandatorily spend minimum two % of average net profit of past three years towards areas or activities contributing towards national building, socio-economic development, environmental sustainability and others. In the Indian banking sector, since private banks are registered under the Companies Act, they are mandatorily required to contribute their profit towards CSR if they fulfil the eligibility criteria. This paper aims to highlight the CSR spending and practices of selected private banks in India in the post mandate period. The findings show that hardly one or two out of the selected banks have spent more than the minimum limit of 2 per cent of their profit towards activities related to CSR in the time period of the study. In other words, actual CSR spending of most of the selected banks is lower than their prescribed CSR budget for the time period of the study.