Where India Inc. Spent Its CSR Kitty In FY21
Of the total CSR spend in FY21, nearly 51% was concentrated in health and education sector.
The top 500 Indian companies spent Rs 17,672 crore towards Corporate Social Responsibility in FY21, according to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
The Companies Act, 2013 mandates corporates to spend 2% of their net profit towards activities beneficial for society, and file the details of their CSR activities annually in the MCA21 registry.
In FY21, of the total CSR spend, nearly 51% was concentrated in health and education sector—28.5% on healthcare and 22.6% on education, the ministry said in the Parliament on Monday. A close third was the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund and other government funds, with 14% CSR funds flowing towards both combined.
In the background of Covid-19 pandemic, healthcare sector CSR spend rose to Rs 5,028 crore; an increase of 42% over the previous year.
The Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund holds the second position in terms of absolute increase in funds at Rs 1,218 crore, compared to Rs 478 crore the previous year.
In terms of percentage change in contribution over the year, Clean Ganga Fund gained the most with 477% increase in funds spent. The Swachh Bharat Kosh gained by 444% and spending on animal welfare efforts went up by 168.29%.
Despite the major chunk of the CSR funding channeled towards education sector, data shows that contributions dipped in FY20-21. Funds allocated for education were Rs 773 crore less than that of the previous year.
Vocational skills saw a dip in contributions with a Rs 572 crore decrease in CSR spending. Art and culture, too, saw a significant dip with India Inc. reducing its spending by Rs 462 crore in FY20-21.
There was a steep decline in the funds spent by corporations on development of agro and forestry, with data showing an 80% dip. Efforts to mitigate gender inequality also reduced over the year with a 73% dip in funds spent.
The beneficiaries of CSR funds were states like Maharashtra with Rs 1,885 crore spent on projects there; followed by Karnataka with Rs 622 crore and Andhra Pradesh getting Rs 511 crore of the total CSR corpus of the top 500 companies.