State Bank of India (SBI) is planning to launch SBI Foundation, a company that will undertake activities pertaining to corporate social responsibility (CSR) on behalf of the group. The bank has received approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for setting up the company, which is likely to be launched on July 1, the foundation day of the bank.
As per the revised Companies Act, corporates have to mandatorily set aside 2 per cent of their net profit of the previous year for CSR activity. The rule, however, is not applicable to commercial banks as they are governed by the Banking Regulation Act, which does not mandate this.
