India, June 9 -- CSR spending today is project-driven and proximity-biased, concentrated near corporate headquarters and not where development need is greatest. The required shift is both conceptual and operational: repositioning CSR capital as catalytic financial capital deployed through credit guarantees and pooled investment vehicles, with explicit targeting toward districts with low credit penetration. Aligning CSR flows with the Aspirational Districts Programme data and NABARD's district credit plans would provide a ready-made targeting framework.

Access to credit without enterprise capability is incomplete. Many micro-enterprises fail not from lack of finance, but from weak business planning, poor financial literacy, and limited ma...