Moneylife: Pune: Wednesday, 2nd July 2025.
The SBI Foundation, the
corporate social responsibility (CSR) arm of State Bank of India (SBI) has
refused to provide key information under the Right to Information (RTI) Act,
2005, claiming that it is not a 'public authority' as defined under Section 2(h)
of the Act. RTI activist Anil Galgali had filed the application seeking
information about audit report and ACE Sports Development Programme of SBI
Foundation.
In his reply to Mr Galgali, SBI Foundation's managing director (MD) stated, "SBI Foundation does not fall within the definition of a 'Public Authority' as specified under Section 2(h) of the RTI Act, 2005. As such, our organisation is not obligated to provide information under the RTI Act."
In the RTI application, Mr Galgali sought the following information from SBI Foundation regarding the ACE Sports Development Programme: List of NGOs funded under the programme in recent years. Whether any of these non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are founded or run by Olympians. Details of audits conducted by the CAG (comptroller and auditor general of India), along with copies of reports. Names and details of any NGOs blacklisted, along with reasons. Details of the renewal and funding approval committee. Rules and documentation process for project renewals. Any exemptions provided to celebrity-run organisations? Whether mandatory audits are done before multi-year fund renewals.
However, SBI Foundation refused to share the information stating that it does not fall withing the definition of public authority as specified under Section 2(h) of the RTI Act.
Section 2(1)(h) of the RTI Act defines "public authority"…
h) "public authority means any authority or body or institution of self-government established or constituted,-
(a) by or under the Constitution;
(b) by any other law made by Parliament;
(c) by any other law made by the State Legislature;
(d) by notification issued or order made by the appropriate government, and includes any--
(i) body owned, controlled or substantially financed;
(ii) non-government organisation substantially financed, directly or indirectly by funds provided by the appropriate government;"
Bodies owned, controlled or substantially financed by the Union government, or the state government, also fall within the definition of public authority. The financing of the body or the NGO by the government may be direct or indirect.
Mr Galgali says, "SBI Foundation is wholly funded, governed, and controlled by SBI, a government-owned public sector bank. If an institution created with public funds tries to avoid scrutiny under RTI, it raises serious concerns about accountability and transparency."
As per information available at its website, SBI Foundation, at present, has nine directors on its board. SBI's chairman Challa Sreenivasulu Setty, also known as CS Setty, is a nominee director and also chairman of SBI Foundation. The other five nominee directors on SBI Foundation's board are Ashwini Kumar Tewari (managing director (MD) for corporate banking and subsidiaries of SBI), Vinay M Tonse (MD for retail business & operations, SBI), Vinod Kumar Mishra (DMD for human resources (HR) and CDO, SBI), Nand Kishore (MD&CEO, SBI Funds Management Ltd) and Amit Jhingran (MD&CEO, SBI Life Insurance Company Ltd).
Venkatesh Srinivasan and
Dr Tulsi Jayakumar are independent directors, while Sanjay Prakash is the MD
and chief executive officer (CEO) of SBI Foundation.
The key management team at SBI Foundation consists of three employees who have worked with SBI.
Before joining SBI Foundation in July 2022, Sanjay Prakash worked as deputy general manager for industrial relations in the HR department of SBI's corporate centre.
Jagannath Sahoo, president and chief operating officer (COO) of SBI Foundation also worked in SBI for nearly 25 years before joining the Foundation in June 2023. Sushil Kumar Verma assumed the role of chief financial officer (CFO) and chief administrator at SBI Foundation on 1 February 2024 after working for 28 years in SBI.
Mr Galgali says that he will escalate the matter to the central information commission (CIC), SBI's RTI nodal officer, and CSR regulatory bodies, urging them to ensure transparency where public funds and public interest are involved.
"Citizens have the right to know how CSR funds, which are a statutory obligation, are used, who receives them, and whether there is any misuse or conflict of interest," he says.
This case could set a precedent for other CSR foundations of state-owned entities, including banks, attempting to avoid public scrutiny despite operating with public money.
In his reply to Mr Galgali, SBI Foundation's managing director (MD) stated, "SBI Foundation does not fall within the definition of a 'Public Authority' as specified under Section 2(h) of the RTI Act, 2005. As such, our organisation is not obligated to provide information under the RTI Act."
In the RTI application, Mr Galgali sought the following information from SBI Foundation regarding the ACE Sports Development Programme: List of NGOs funded under the programme in recent years. Whether any of these non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are founded or run by Olympians. Details of audits conducted by the CAG (comptroller and auditor general of India), along with copies of reports. Names and details of any NGOs blacklisted, along with reasons. Details of the renewal and funding approval committee. Rules and documentation process for project renewals. Any exemptions provided to celebrity-run organisations? Whether mandatory audits are done before multi-year fund renewals.
However, SBI Foundation refused to share the information stating that it does not fall withing the definition of public authority as specified under Section 2(h) of the RTI Act.
Section 2(1)(h) of the RTI Act defines "public authority"…
h) "public authority means any authority or body or institution of self-government established or constituted,-
(a) by or under the Constitution;
(b) by any other law made by Parliament;
(c) by any other law made by the State Legislature;
(d) by notification issued or order made by the appropriate government, and includes any--
(i) body owned, controlled or substantially financed;
(ii) non-government organisation substantially financed, directly or indirectly by funds provided by the appropriate government;"
Bodies owned, controlled or substantially financed by the Union government, or the state government, also fall within the definition of public authority. The financing of the body or the NGO by the government may be direct or indirect.
Mr Galgali says, "SBI Foundation is wholly funded, governed, and controlled by SBI, a government-owned public sector bank. If an institution created with public funds tries to avoid scrutiny under RTI, it raises serious concerns about accountability and transparency."
As per information available at its website, SBI Foundation, at present, has nine directors on its board. SBI's chairman Challa Sreenivasulu Setty, also known as CS Setty, is a nominee director and also chairman of SBI Foundation. The other five nominee directors on SBI Foundation's board are Ashwini Kumar Tewari (managing director (MD) for corporate banking and subsidiaries of SBI), Vinay M Tonse (MD for retail business & operations, SBI), Vinod Kumar Mishra (DMD for human resources (HR) and CDO, SBI), Nand Kishore (MD&CEO, SBI Funds Management Ltd) and Amit Jhingran (MD&CEO, SBI Life Insurance Company Ltd).
The key management team at SBI Foundation consists of three employees who have worked with SBI.
Before joining SBI Foundation in July 2022, Sanjay Prakash worked as deputy general manager for industrial relations in the HR department of SBI's corporate centre.
Jagannath Sahoo, president and chief operating officer (COO) of SBI Foundation also worked in SBI for nearly 25 years before joining the Foundation in June 2023. Sushil Kumar Verma assumed the role of chief financial officer (CFO) and chief administrator at SBI Foundation on 1 February 2024 after working for 28 years in SBI.
Mr Galgali says that he will escalate the matter to the central information commission (CIC), SBI's RTI nodal officer, and CSR regulatory bodies, urging them to ensure transparency where public funds and public interest are involved.
"Citizens have the right to know how CSR funds, which are a statutory obligation, are used, who receives them, and whether there is any misuse or conflict of interest," he says.
This case could set a precedent for other CSR foundations of state-owned entities, including banks, attempting to avoid public scrutiny despite operating with public money.
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