CSR Spend In Northeast Stood At Rs 176-Cr In FY’16
Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently visited Mizoram and Meghalaya to launch various projects. The government has taken a number of measures to fast-track North-East’s development since 2014. From boosting its tourism potential to improving connectivity, it is actively transforming the region.
But the figures informed in the Parliament recently speak a different story. Companies spent a little over Rs 176 crore in the Northeast states towards corporate social responsibility (CSR) works in 2015-16, a surge of 15 per cent from the preceding fiscal.
Under the Companies Act, 2013, certain class of profitable entities have to spend at least 2 per cent of their three-year average annual net income towards CSR activities in a financial year.
An assessment of CSR expenditure indicates that companies spent Rs 176.59 crore in the Northeast states in 2015-16, an increase from Rs 153.52 crore spent in 2014-15, Minister of State for Corporate Affairs P P Chaudhary said in a written reply to Rajya Sabha.
Of the total Rs 176.59 crore, Assam got the largest pie of Rs 160.39 crore.
This was followed by Manipur at Rs 5.80 crore, Meghalaya (Rs 3.81 crore), Sikkim (Rs 1.87 crore), Tripura (Rs 1.47 crore), Arunachal Pradesh (Rs 1.22 crore), Mizoram (Rs 1.08 crore) and Nagaland (Rs 0.95 crore).
In order to increase CSR provisions and improve compliance, the minister said various workshops, seminars, conferences have been organised by the government, institutes and business chambers.
Overall, corporates had spent over Rs 13,625 crore in the entire country towards CSR activities in 2015-16.
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