‘Sena Kalyan Sangstha is a welfare organisation operated by the Bangladesh Army,’ said a BB circular on Monday, adding, ‘The SKS has been distributing relief, which the SKS receives from different organisations, through the Bangladesh Army among the hardcore poor in remote parts of the country duing the ongoing restrictions on movement.’

During the ongoing strict restrictions, people’s movement along with that of public transport, except for emergency purposes, were under restrictions, the BB said.

As a result, it was expected that disbursement of the special CSR money through the SKS would reach the doorsteps of the people quickly and more effectively, it said.

Based on the situation, the central bank said that the banks would be allowed to disburse their special CSR funds through the SKS along with the existing disbursement process.

In this regard, the banks were suggested to communicate with the office of the SKS chairman.

The BB also instructed the banks to maintain separate records of the funds disbursed through the SKS.

At present, the banks were spending their special CSR funds through their own management or through deputy commissioners, non-government organisations and micro financial institutions.

Following the second wave of the coronavirus outbreak, the central bank on April 26 asked the banks to form special CSR funds for the year 2021 so that the poor and distressed people affected by the fresh wave of the Covid outbreak could get financial support.

In order to carry out a special CSR programme, the banks were instructed to allocate an additional 1 per cent of their respective net profits of the year 2020 in addition to the existing CSR allocation for the year 2021.

The additional CSR spending for the year 2021 would be adjustable in the next three years.