Comparative Analysis of CSR Practices in Public and Private Sector Banks

HABIBUR RAHAMAN , AVIJIT SARKAR

Corporate Social Responsibility, Public Sector Banks, Private Sector Banks, India, Banking Sector, CSR Implementation, Sustainable Development, Financial Inclusion, CSR Impact, Strategic CSR.

This article in a comparative and contrasting manner, covers the two prominent types of banks in India, viz. the public and the private banks, and the emphasis here is on the attitudes of the two types of banks towards the corporate social responsibility (CSR). Corporate social responsibility (CSR) forms a critical aspect of good corporate governance and the banking sector leads in this segment due to the implications that the sector holds in terms of societal development. As the public sector banks (PSBs) are owned by the government, their corporate social responsibility (CSR) activity has a greater chance of covering national development aspirations such as education, infrastructure in the rural areas, and financial inclusion. Conversely, the banks in the private sector are more strategic, and brand image, environmental sustainability, innovation with regards to digital literacy and improvement in health act as their core drive. This paper looks at the similarities and differences between the CSR approaches of the two sectors and brings out the major differences in the approaches used, the allocation of resources, and the means of assessing the benefits and analysing its usefulness. These findings confirm that PvSBs can be more flexible, innovative, and even orient corporate social responsibility (CSR) towards the demands of business rather than being too closely attached to hierarchical and process-oriented paradigms such is the case with PSBs. To enforce greater CSR practice, the paper also addresses the challenges that both industries experience and proposes ways in which the two industries can collaborate and incorporate the sustainable development goals. A still further in-depth understanding of the phenomena of CSR in the sphere of the Indian banking industry can be attained with the assistance of the given comparative analysis.

Volume 14 Issue 3, March-2026

Pages : c440-c447