CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY(CSR)
At Ujjivan Small Finance Bank, we firmly believe that the success of our business lies in its positive impact created on the society. With this belief, we ensure a strong corporate culture, emphasising the integration of CSR values with business objectives. We stand by our motto, 'Build a Better Life'.
Leadership’s Quote
Ittira Davis

MD and CEO, Ujjivan Small Finance Bank
Serving the communities in the 24 states where Ujjivan has a presence is the core of the community development programme. Education, Health, Infrastructure and Water projects planned and executed with our partners allow us to achieve this community connect.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES
- COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES
- DISASTER RELIEF ACTIVITIES
Community development
Serving the unserved and the underserved of the country has always been at the heart of everything we do at Ujjivan Small Finance Bank. With Community Development being a key focus area and a vital part of our CSR initiatives, we specialise in Infrastructure Development, health care, education and Aid programs.
Please find below some of the projects we have done under community development initiatives:
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES
- CHOTE KADAM
- LIVELIHOOD
- HEALTH CARE
- EDUCATION
- ENVIRONMENT
- OTHER INITIATIVES
Infrastructure Development (CHOTE KADAM)
At Ujjivan Small Finance Bank, we always aim to create a positive impact on the society. Our Promoter, Ujjivan Financial Services Ltd. started the Community Development Program, Chote Kadam back in 2017 with an objective to give back something meaningful to the communities, based on their needs.
This community development program focuses on delivering projects that are selected and then executed on the basis of requirements and decisions of the community. We give attention to broad categories of public infrastructure facilities such as
- Infrastructural support for the educational institutions
- Renovation of healthcare facilities
- Construction of community centres and bus stands
- Catering to safe drinking water needs of the communities
- Provision of sanitation in the community
- Provision of solar-powered street lighting etc.
Ujjivan Small Finance Bank has a strategic partnership with Parinaam Foundation to carry out social welfare efforts. The bank volunteers worked along with Parinaam Foundation for a better and well-built India. Having successfully concluded 47 projects in 17 states & UTs which has benefited over 31,58,590+ individuals, Chote Kadam is a movement that endeavours to make lives better, every day, in every way.
Some of our high impact Chote Kadam Projects include:
- Construction of the Patient Waiting Area, Patient Toilets & Renovation Of Primary Healthcare Center, Grampanchayat Rabdal, Dahod
- Renovation of PHC at Bhadarabad, Dhandoor village, Hissar
- Construction Of New Toilets & Compound Wall At Z. P School Sakari Village, Bhusawal
- Provision of Garbage Truck & Bins to The Mapusa Municipal Corporation
- Construction Of Drinking Water Platform With Water Purifier At Swami Pranavananda Centenary Girls Residential School
- Anganwadi Renovation - Morlipura Village
- Renovation of orphanage at Uttarahalli etc.





Healthcare infrastructure for CMC Vellore
Lack of timely medical care and quality facilities have always been a prime concern to the country, especially during the pandemic. As part of our healthcare initiatives, Ujjivan Small Finance Bank partnered with CMC Vellore, and provided 4 ICU units to their facility, especially designed to cater to a large number of COVID-19 affected patients. The units have been procured and have become operational, slated to impact about 500 lives a year.
Food aid program through Calcutta Social Project
At Ujjivan Small Finance Bank, we understand that building a better life becomes possible when our most basic needs are met. To further that Ujjivan Small Finance Bank partnered with the Calcutta Social Project, an NGO working in the slums of Kolkata. The partnership is intended to help more than 1200 people from the weaker communities of Kolkata through dry ration support for a duration of 3 months. Through CSP, we have also supported the online education program for underprivileged children and vocational training for the Girls Craft Centre run by the Calcutta Social Project.
Reaching out to rural children through e-Vidyaloka
While the world is going digital, the benefactors have mostly been the privileged, with the unserved and the underserved of the society left in the lurch. Taking this into cognizance, we at Ujjivan Small Finance Bank, partnered with – e-Vidyaloka, where we were able to enable access to quality education to the unserved by using digital technology. 420 video modules have been created for mobile app and broadcast as of 31st March 2021. e-Vidyaloka has also enrolled 3 NGO partners in Tiruvannamalai district of TN, reaching out to 35 children who are now availing the benefit of these classes.
The classes in Tamil have also been broadcasted on television through local cable networks reaching a massive 5.01 lakhs viewership. In Karnataka, 1 NGO partner has been enrolled to cover Dharwad, Bagalkot, Gadag and Belgaum districts, with 58 children benefitting from these classes directly. The classes in Kannada were also broadcasted through local cable networks reaching over 3.09 lakh viewers.
Cheshire Disability Trust
We at Ujjivan Small Finance Bank, firmly believe that everyone has the right to ‘Build a Better Life’, regardless of one’s ability. By partnering with – Cheshire Disability Trust, we drove this philosophy forward by supporting the Livelihood Enhancement Program to persons with disabilities. The participants would be trained on computer skills and other soft skills to make them more job-ready.
Food aid for inmates of Sumanahalli Society
Ujjivan Small Finance Bank has also supported the efforts taken to ensure timely nutritious food supply to 75 inmates of the Sumanahalli Society affected with Leprosy for a duration of 6 months starting from February 2021.
Health awareness through St. John’s Hospital
Dispensing accurate and timely information can make a world of difference, especially during the pandemic. To ensure that health-related education reaches out to over a 1000 people arriving daily at the St. John’s hospital, we supported the hospital in the procurement of 5 unique digital information kiosks designed to display health-related information throughout the day.
Livelihood Programs:
Training & Placement of PWDs with Cheshire Disability Trust:
Ujjivan recognises the challenges faced by the PWDs, especially the youth community in finding employment due to various reasons like poverty, lack of exposure to education & opportunities, stigma & discrimination etc.
While the employment opportunities are growing within the city, PWDs fail in meeting the demands of industry in terms of required skill sets, especially, without a professional skill background, basic English and computer skills, they find it extremely difficult to get employed on equal terms.
Towards enabling PWDs which equal opportunity employment, Ujjivan, in partnership with Cheshire Disability Trust has been identifying, counselling, training and placing them in appropriate companies and industries in line with their choice of interest.
In 2020-21, we trained 100 beneficiaries in Karnataka and placed 59 of them in the retail & hospitality sectors with an average salary of Rs. 12,500/- per month. These were placed with Amazon, Fernster, TVS, R Process and Leepra Technologies.
We continued our partnership with Cheshire Disability Trust in 2021-22 to empower 200 more PWDs in Jamshedpur & Mumbai locations. Out of the 200 trained candidates, we could place 124 of them with Square Meal foods, Quess Corp, Bellona Hospitality Services, DHL Logistics etc.
Livelihood Training to Youth with Divya Nur Foundation:
Through our association with Divya Nur Foundation in Bhubaneshwar, we offered livelihood training to 100 unemployed youth affected by Fani & Yass cyclone in 2021-22 and successfully placed 59 of them in the retail sector like Khadims, HDB Finance, Hunger Box, Monginis, Veggiekart, etc. The training aimed at imparting basic computer knowledge, English language skills and retail industry domain knowledge.

Sustainable Livelihood for Women:
Our partnership with Savera society in Purnea, Bihar, we have installed 16 machines to make significant change in the lives of rural women on techniques for manufacturing jute and banana fibre products including jute bags. This empowerment serves another noble social cause. By training more people in the making and use of such biodegradable products, we are also helping to build an alternate ecosystem for sustainable products.
Though the initial batch consisted of 50 women, this initiative has continued to add more and more beneficiaries.

HEALTH CARE
While Ujjivan has contributed towards renovation of several PHCs / hospitals under Chote kadam, the bank has been contributing significantly in the health care domain making the health care facilities available and affordable to the challenged sector of the society.
Healthcare support in partnership with St. John’s Hospital (CBCI Society)
Ujjivan contributed for 6 High Dependency Unit (HDU) Beds at St. John’s hospital when it was critical when several patients were rushed to HDU during the second wave of Covid benefitting hundreds of patients.


NICU at Marwari Hospitals:
Ujjivan partnered with Marwari hospitals in Guwahati to provide Pediatric and Neonatal Setup to help children’s treatment.

Covid Relief Work:
The Covid-19 pandemic has upended the world, disrupting the health and economy making things worse for those struggling to make ends meet. However, the primary threat was to people’s health. At the onset of Covid, Ujjivan Small Finance Bank partnered with the non-profit organization – Give India Foundation to supply 5500 PPE kits to hospitals in Mumbai, to support doctors, nurses and hospital support staff members in addressing the issues faced by the end beneficiaries across India.




Medical support:
In 2020-21, we extensively worked towards supporting communities during the pandemic with over 26 projects across India being executed, also benefiting the frontline workers (doctors and paramedical staff, police personnel, corporation and municipality workers and transport workers). We dedicated 52% of the CSR expenditure towards the cause and reached ~7,74,000+ public, 49,000+ police personnel, 10,500+ hospital staff, 12,100+ corporation/municipal/panchayat workers and 200 transport workers. We distributed materials such as masks, sanitisers, dry ration, sprayers and PPE kits, among many.


In 2021-22, as part of Covid relief measures, the Bank had initiated activities such as distribution of beds, bedspreads, oximeters, oxygen concentrators, oxygen cylinders, ITU beds, Ventilator beds, PPE kits, gloves, mask, thermal scanners, COVID safety gears for frontline workers, etc. which includes funding for 6 ITU beds to St John’s Hospital, Bengaluru and 40 D Type oxygen cylinders to CMC Vellore.
Sanjeevani Kavach (Covid Vaccination Drive):
We created a program with the help of our internal team and launched the Ujjivan Sanjeevani Kavach Program to vaccinate the public in our operational areas. The program was successfully executed at 478 operational areas and we were able to inoculate over 80,000 vaccines through PHCs, UPHCs, Government Hospitals & privately set-up camps.
Awareness camps:
We also started a COVID-19 education programme, primarily designed to create awareness about the pandemic. It provided information on how to remain safe, RT-PCR testing and relevant government insurance schemes and clarified misconceptions. More than 3,57,000+ beneficiaries were trained across the country.
Education
Several initiatives have been undertaken to improve educational access for disadvantaged groups. These were:
Partnered with Maithree Society, and adopted an education centre in Chennai, which works with children, who are categorised as persons with intellectual and developmental disability (PwIDD). The centre has 45 children with special needs, and they have purchased two smart boards with grants given to them.
Helped the Maria Nivas School in Harihara, Karnataka, to set up an IT laboratory. We have donated 18 computers to the school, and this initiative will benefit the school’s 1,100 students.



Ujjivan Small Finance Bank contributed Rs.10 lakhs under its CSR program, and the direct cash transfer helped 200 visually challenged families. Through this aid, families were able to arrange their daily needs such as food, medicine and other essentials.
Further to our efforts in extending better healthcare, Ujjivan Small Finance Bank has directly carried out support activities across 19 states in the country. We mobilized the regional executive committees of the bank to execute COVID-19 relief activities through the branch network. Through this network, we supported the front-line workers from healthcare, the police, municipality/panchayat workers, including bus drivers. Various relief material was distributed to the unserved and underserved public, such as PPE kits, dry rations, masks, gloves, sanitizers, sprayers, spraying vehicles, etc. The result was tremendous, impacting over 8,39,500 lives.
As part of the COVID-19 Education Initiative, over 3,57,000 people, including customers were trained on basic protocols to prevent the spread of COVID-19, with a host of benefits made available to them. The program also saw over 2,60,000 masks distributed and resulted in the enabling of 55,000 Arogya Setu App downloads.
Environment
Project Swachh Neighborhood
As the first step towards cleanliness, we identified the dirtiest streets and areas in the locality. After that, we cleared the debris, garbage dumping areas, and littering spots. To further ensure that these clean spots don’t turn into a sorry state again, we painted the walls. We went hand-in-hand with the local community and the municipal bodies to monitor the clean areas and assure that it doesn’t turn into a garbage dumping spot again.
In addition to that our bank's employees reached out to local schools and involved little children in our cleanliness campaign. Involving children in this social cause raised awareness in the little ones, and they realised the importance of maintaining a clean environment. Many schools supported the drive and even organised awareness marches with placards designed by their students.
The Swachh Neighborhood projects have witnessed overwhelming participation - volunteers, including Ujjivan employees, students, members from the local community and municipal authorities. We also carried out our Project Swachh Neighborhood in Pune Municipal Corporation areas. Later, Pune Municipal Corporation organized ‘Swachh Puraskar 2019-20’ and Ujjivan Small Finance Bank bagged the consolation prize in the Best Swachh Private Organization category.





OTHER COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES
Wheel Chairs through ProVision Asia:
As a part of our partnership with ProVision Asia, we distributed specially designed 40 wheel chairs amongst the differently-abled community in Bengaluru. Our partner helped to identify needy persons who would be greatly empowered by the mobility they gained through wheel chair use and could better support their families & themselves.
Shelter for the Leprosy & HIV patients:
We collaborated with Sumanahalli Society, an organisation that provides shelter and care for people affected with leprosy and HIV aids. We sponsored food and daily needs for 75 inmates for six months.
HEALTH CARE
While Ujjivan has contributed towards renovation of several PHCs / hospitals under Chote kadam, the bank has been contributing significantly in the health care domain making the health care facilities available and affordable to the challenged sector of the society.
Healthcare support in partnership with St. John’s Hospital (CBCI Society)


NICU at Marwari Hospitals:
Covid Relief Work:
The Covid-19 pandemic has upended the world, disrupting the health and economy making things worse for those struggling to make ends meet. However, the primary threat was to people’s health. At the onset of Covid, Ujjivan Small Finance Bank partnered with the non-profit organization – Give India Foundation to supply 5500 PPE kits to hospitals in Mumbai, to support doctors, nurses and hospital support staff members in addressing the issues faced by the end beneficiaries across India.
Medical support:
In 2020-21, we extensively worked towards supporting communities during the pandemic with over 26 projects across India being executed, also benefiting the frontline workers (doctors and paramedical staff, police personnel, corporation and municipality workers and transport workers). We dedicated 52% of the CSR expenditure towards the cause and reached ~7,74,000+ public, 49,000+ police personnel, 10,500+ hospital staff, 12,100+ corporation/municipal/panchayat workers and 200 transport workers. We distributed materials such as masks, sanitisers, dry ration, sprayers and PPE kits, among many.


In 2021-22, as part of Covid relief measures, the Bank had initiated activities such as distribution of beds, bedspreads, oximeters, oxygen concentrators, oxygen cylinders, ITU beds, Ventilator beds, PPE kits, gloves, mask, thermal scanners, COVID safety gears for frontline workers, etc. which includes funding for 6 ITU beds to St John’s Hospital, Bengaluru and 40 D Type oxygen cylinders to CMC Vellore.
Sanjeevani Kavach (Covid Vaccination Drive):
We created a program with the help of our internal team and launched the Ujjivan Sanjeevani Kavach Program to vaccinate the public in our operational areas. The program was successfully executed at 478 operational areas and we were able to inoculate over 80,000 vaccines through PHCs, UPHCs, Government Hospitals & privately set-up camps.
Awareness camps:
We also started a COVID-19 education programme, primarily designed to create awareness about the pandemic. It provided information on how to remain safe, RT-PCR testing and relevant government insurance schemes and clarified misconceptions. More than 3,57,000+ beneficiaries were trained across the country.
Disaster Relief :


Under disaster management, the Bank supported lives affected by Yass cyclone in Jaynagar and heavy floods at Tamluk and Panskura by providing affected communities with adequate relief material during their time of need.
During the Yass cyclone, the Jaynagar region of West Bengal was severely affected. Teams from Ujjivan SFB’s Jaynagar branch reached out to affected families, assessed needs and provided help in the form of dry rations, plastic buckets, mosquito nets, etc.
In August 2021, there were heavy floods in the Tamluk and Panskura areas in West Bengal. While the state government provided relief in the most severely affected areas, we worked with government agencies to provide help in the form of dry rations, tarpaulin, phenyl liquid and mosquito nets, and thereby helped to check the spread of disease in the prevailing flood ridden unhygienic conditions. We were collectively able to help more than 8,000 beneficiaries.
In 2022, Ujjivan undertook relief activities in the East region by organising health camps in Kamrup, Nagaon Mirza, Baihata locations which were badly affected by floods in the month of September and impacted about 700+ beneficiaries.
Project Swachh Neighborhood:
As the first step towards cleanliness, we identified the dirtiest streets and areas in the locality. After that, we cleared the debris, garbage dumping areas, and littering spots. To further ensure that these clean spots don’t turn into a sorry state again, we painted the walls. We went hand-in-hand with the local community and the municipal bodies to monitor the clean areas and assure that it doesn’t turn into a garbage dumping spot again.
In addition to that our bank's employees reached out to local schools and involved little children in our cleanliness campaign. Involving children in this social cause raised awareness in the little ones, and they realised the importance of maintaining a clean environment. Many schools supported the drive and even organised awareness marches with placards designed by their students.
The Swachh Neighborhood projects have witnessed overwhelming participation - volunteers, including Ujjivan employees, students, members from the local community and municipal authorities. We also carried out our Project Swachh Neighborhood in Pune Municipal Corporation areas. Later, Pune Municipal Corporation organized ‘Swachh Puraskar 2019-20’ and Ujjivan Small Finance Bank bagged the consolation prize in the Best Swachh Private Organization category.
Disaster Relief Activities
When a natural calamity occurs, people in that region become helpless, lose their belongings, and suffer terribly. In 2019, one such unfortunate calamity occurred, where an exceeding amount of rainfall caused floods in many parts of India and ruined people’s lives. To help our fellow countrymen, the Ujjivan leadership team and the branches stepped into the field.

