Stress in the banking sector is limiting expenditure on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to 1 per cent of the net profit, according to Arundhati Bhattacharya, Chairman, State Bank of India.
The regulator wanted SBI to cap the CSR spend at 1 per cent, she said: “Going forward, we will increase it to 2 per cent,” she told newspersons after donating ophthalmic equipment to LV Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI) here on Thursday.
During 2015-16, SBI had spent ₹144 crore under the CSR initiative.
SBI, which recently identified 21 villages across the country to develop them as digital villages, is looking to digitise 100 villages by March 2017, she said.
The objective of the initiative is to popularise digital banking in rural areas with facilities, such as an ATM, free Wi-Fi connection and technology training sessions for villagers.
Plans are afoot to provide facilities to download education facilities and telemedicine in these villages, Bhattacharya added.
SBI donated ₹1.15 crore to LVPEI to set up six examination rooms for non-payment patients and one room for outpatients.
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