Sustainable Corporate Social Responsibility in Financial Institutions and Banks in India

Abstract

Corporate Social Responsibility is the mechanism through which the corporate organizations have executed their philanthropic visions for social welfare. It is a powerful way of making sustainable competitive profit and achieving lasting values for stakeholder as well as shareholder. Corporate Social Responsibility is very popular in financial sector, which the financial crisis did not damage as perceptible as in other countries of developed economies (Singer, 2009). In the recent years Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has witnessed tremendous increase in awareness and control in the global arena. CSR that emerged in 1960 was an attempt to link business with society. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) refers to strategies that Corporations or firms employ to conduct their business in a way that is ethical, society friendly and beneficial to community in terms of development. It is a concept where Business organizations apart from their profitability and growth show interest in societal and environmental welfare by taking the responsibility of impact of their activities on stakeholders, employees, shareholders, customers, suppliers, and civil society. In this regard, actions taken by corporate houses and regulatory authorities operating in developed nations are quite satisfactory. However in developing nations the situation of CSR activities by financial institutions is not so flourishing.

The contribution of financial institutions including banks to sustainable development is paramount, considering the crucial role they play in financing the economic and developmental activities of the world. In this reference the present paper attempts to analyze the CSR practices in Indian banking sector.

Keywords: Sustainable, Corporate Social Responsibility, Financial Institutions, Banks