About
To support sustainable development goals through targeted CSR initiatives in healthcare, education, livelihood, environment and social inclusion.
CSR foundation of India's largest bank. Primary focus: healthcare, education, livelihood. Arts and culture are not a defined CSR priority area. Cultural footprint is minimal relative to the bank's Rs. 41 trillion asset base.
SBI Foundation was established in 2015 to manage the State Bank of India's mandatory CSR spending under Section 135 of the Companies Act 2013. As India's largest public sector bank with over 22,000 branches and more than Rs. 41 trillion in assets, SBI's mandatory CSR obligation is among the largest of any Indian financial institution. The Foundation's stated priority areas are healthcare, education, livelihood and environment. Culture Atlas's research has not identified any significant or sustained arts and culture funding programmes operated by SBI Foundation. Occasional heritage conservation contributions and cultural events may exist but are not evidenced in the Foundation's public reporting.
This absence is significant. India's performing arts and folk traditions are documented in this Atlas as severely underfunded. SBI, as the bank closest to the largest number of Indians, including the artisan communities, folk musician families and craft practitioners whose traditions constitute India's cultural heritage, is positioned to connect financial resources to cultural need in ways that few other institutions can match.
Founding & Leadership
SBI Foundation was established in 2015 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the State Bank of India, incorporating the bank's longstanding tradition of community investment under the 'Service Beyond Banking' ethos into a formal, regulated CSR entity. It was created to consolidate and professionalise the State Bank Group's CSR activities following the enactment of mandatory CSR provisions in 2013. The Foundation is governed by a board that includes senior SBI executives and independent directors. As of 2024-25, Sanjay Prakash serves as Managing Director and CEO, with Venkatesh Srinivasan and other board members providing oversight. The Foundation is ultimately accountable to SBI's board and its CSR activities are subject to CAG audit as part of the public sector bank's governance obligations.
Leadership & Trustees
Initiatives & Portfolio
Occasional contributions to heritage site conservation, not evidenced as a sustained or strategic programme. [Atlas Assessment] Specific heritage contributions not publicly documented at programme level.
The Foundation's primary programme area. SBI Scholar and similar scholarship programmes for economically disadvantaged students. Not arts-specific.
Cultural Funding
Cultural verticals
Impact & Metrics
Partnerships & Network
Partner institutions
Government partners
Credentials & Compliance
CSR-eligible · Schedule VII(v) — Protection of national heritage, art and culture
SBI Foundation channels statutory 2% CSR spending for the entire State Bank Group under Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013. Heritage and culture projects are categorised under Schedule VII(v) — protection of national heritage, art and culture. All expenditure is subject to CAG audit.
SBI Foundation's significance to Culture Atlas is primarily as a documented gap rather than a documented contribution. India's largest bank, with the deepest retail presence of any financial institution in the country, has not developed a meaningful arts and culture programme. This represents a significant missed opportunity to connect institutional resources with the artisan, craft and folk performance communities that are among SBI's own customer base in rural India.
[Atlas Perspective] The State Bank of India's mandatory CSR obligation, given its profits, runs into hundreds of crores annually. Culture Atlas's research has not identified any significant arts and culture allocation within SBI Foundation's programmes. Healthcare and education are unquestionably important priorities, and SBI Foundation's work in those areas is meaningful.
But India's cultural sector is also a development priority, and the case for SBI's involvement is not merely aesthetic. The artisan communities, folk musician families and traditional craft practitioners documented in this Atlas depend on economic sustainability for cultural survival. A bank with 22,000 branches, a presence in every district and a customer base that includes millions of rural households could do more than any other single institution to connect cultural practitioners with financial services, market access and direct support. The Mahindra Finance model, which combines rural financial services with cultural patronage, offers one possible approach.
SBI Foundation's current cultural footprint is not commensurate with the bank's scale, its geographic reach or its stated commitment to the communities it serves.