Largest private sector lender HDFC Bank on August 14 said it spent Rs 443.80 crore on corporate social responsibility (CSR) in fiscal year ending March 2019.
The statement, which comes amid an increased attention from the Government to make entities comply with the mandatory spending requirements, said the expenditure was 20 per cent higher than the previous year.
After stoking a controversy by mulling to make non- compliance as a criminal offence for which company officials can be jailed, the Government seems to have backtracked, with a panel suggesting on Tuesday to make it a civil offence.
"In the year ended March 31, 2019 the expenditure on CSR was Rs 443.8 crore, 20 per cent more than the previous year making the Bank one of the largest such spenders," a statement from the lender said.
It can be noted that the name of HDFC Bank was among the list of entities which was named as having fallen short of the mandatory spending, wherein certain sized entities are made to allocate 2 per cent of their three-year annual average net profit towards CSR.
In FY20, the bank's net profit increased 20.53 per cent to Rs 21,078 crore.
In the statement issued on Wednesday, the bank said it is taking a holistic approach to its responsibility towards the community, through an initiative called 'Parivartan'.
"We are trying to bring about holistic, sustainable, long-term impact in their lives helping them as well as the nation progress," its head of CSR Ashmia Bhat said.
The bank said it has positively impacted 5 crore lives through the initiative.
It has collected over 1 million units of blood, constructed or refurbished nearly 7,000 sanitation units in school, trained 7.6 lakh women in self help groups and provided 21,000 renewable energy units, among others.
The bank said it is among the few corporate citizens to adopt an integrated reporting approach, which is a global best practice which is not mandatory in India.
"It is heartening to see the Bank continuing to strive to adopt highest standards of disclosure and reporting. All our stakeholders and not just shareholders will now be able to see the value we have created for them in one place," its chairperspon Shyamala Gopinath said.
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