HDFC Bank spends for CSR Activities

In Bhubaneswar, HDFC Bank, one of the largest spenders on CSR in India, invested Rs 736 crore in its CSR programmes. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bank, according to its annual report, has focused its efforts on a “people-centric” recovery through multifaceted initiatives spanning livelihood, skill development, education, health, and natural resources. 
 
The largest merger and acquisition in Indian history has been approved by BSE and NSE, as well as HDFC. 

HDFC Bank Parivartan 

The Bank’s overarching brand for all of its social initiatives is Parivartan. Through direct or indirect interventions, it seeks to empower individuals to transform their lives for the better by helping them become independent and integrated members of society. In addition, Parivartan is at the forefront of rebuilding communities and restoring infrastructure following natural disasters. Parivartan operates on five different themes. The bank has established seven goals and 11 sub-goals to direct its community development operations based on the specified target areas.

1. Rural Development

Through initiatives in NRM, Education, Skill Development and Livelihood, Financial Literacy, and Healthcare, the Bank’s Holistic Rural Development Programme (HRDP) focuses on overall development. These initiatives are supported by the conviction that rural development is essential for India’s development. 
 
The twin objectives of improving natural resources and making the best use of them for community economic growth form the foundation of the theme of natural resource management. Three objectives have been set by HDFC Bank under this theme. The first step in increasing the area of land under cultivation and the cropping intensity of cultivable land is to irrigate 2 lakh acres of unirrigated land and cover 1 lakh acres with vegetation. 
 
The second is encouraging the use of clean and renewable energy sources to lessen communities’ ecological and carbon footprints. This includes implementing initiatives like tree planting for carbon storage and biodiversity preservation. The Bank wants 1,000 villages to have at least 10 solar lights and access to clean and renewable energy sources. Additionally, it is equipping 25 percent of the homes in each village with solar home lights, biomass chulhas, biogas plants, solar study lamps, and solar irrigation units. The interior air quality has improved thanks to the biomass burners, directly benefiting the health of women. Additionally, it aims to plant 2.5 million trees by the year FY25.

2. Promotion of Education

In accordance with India’s Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan, HDFC Bank is putting a programme to encourage education into action. To improve the quality of education, schools are given a variety of supports under this subject, including teacher training, student scholarships, career counselling, and infrastructure support, such as installing restrooms and upgrading classrooms. 
 
The Bank provides programmes specifically designed to raise instructors’ skill levels and scale up no-cost fixes for enhancing current systems and procedures. Additionally, it has been working to set up libraries, labs for science, and virtual classrooms. Under this topic, a three-dimensional, goal-driven approach is intended to improve the standard of instruction in public schools. 
 
The first component is to transform 2,500 conventional schools into smart schools, provide a conducive learning environment, and give teachers access to a variety of effective teaching-learning techniques. The second component is to provide scholarships to deserving but financially disadvantaged students in order to prevent the growth of promising young brains due to the financial crisis. The third component focuses on the standard of instruction in schools. The Bank wants to see class-appropriate learning (CAL) levels attained by 70% of students in all schools (those receiving intervention). In classes 3, 5, and 8, the CAL levels are evaluated using the NCERT-defined framework through the National Achievement Survey in the subject areas of language, mathematics, EVS, science, and social science.

3. Skills Training and Livelihood Enhancement

The Bank focuses on the economic development of farmers and young people in rural regions through the Skills Training and Livelihood Enhancement theme by offering ways for them to make a living through agricultural or non-agricultural enterprises. This effort has helped more than 2.54 lakh people since it began. Its main goal is to empower the underprivileged by giving them more opportunities, helping them find jobs close to home, raising their household income, and deterring migration. 
 
Additionally, the project supports women’s self-help groups (SHGs) or joint liability groups (JLGs) by offering market connections, financial literacy training, credit counselling, livelihood financing, and occupational skills training.