The Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) spending of India Inc in FY 2020-21 amounted to Rs. 24,865 Crore out of which Rs. 6947 Crore was spent on healthcare activities including the COVID-19-related initiatives. The announcement regarding the CSR spending was made by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Loksabha and is also reflected in the National CSR Portal. Accordinf to the portal, India Inc. spent Rs. 24,688.66 Crore in FY 2019-20 and Rs. 20,150.27 crore in FY2018-19 on CSR programs.
CSR Expenditure Trends in FY 2020-21 of India Inc.
In India, the CSR architecture is disclosure-based and only CSR-mandated companies are required to file details of CSR spent annually in the MCA-21 registry. As per these submissions, in FY 2020-21, as many as 17,006 companies have conducted CSR initiatives and spent Rs. 24,688.66 Crore on them. Of these companies, 16,709 are non-PSUs, while 297 are PSUs. Non PSUs spend for CSR in 2020-21 consist of the major CSR spending at Rs. 20415.27 Crore, while the 297 PSUs cumulatively spent Rs. 4448.84 Crore, as per available official data.
Top 3 States Recipient of CSR Funds in FY 2020-21
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is home to the headquarters of India’s largest companies. The city of Mumbai is also referred to as the financial capital of the country. This is why it receives a lot of CSR focus from India Inc.
The state of Maharashtra was the recipient of the highest share of CSR funds in the last financial year. The total amount of CSR spending in the state amounted to about Rs. 3424.23 Crore. This amount was contributed by over 4510 companies. The top three contributors in Maharashtra consisted of Reliance Industries Limited, Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited, and Reliance Retail Limited, which spent Rs. 383 Crores, Rs. 96.85 crores and Rs. 88.7 crores respectively on CSR. The top sectors that copped focus of CSR funds included Education (Rs. 1611.6 Crore), Healthcare (Rs. 1269.34 Crore), and Environmental Sustainability (Rs. 163.29 Crore).
Gujarat
The people of Gujarat are known for their business acumen, giving rise to a large number of small and large-scale entrepreneurs contributing to the state’s economy. This also makes the state an attractive destination for companies to spend their CSR energies on.
Gujarat has received the second-highest amount of funds spent on CSR in fiscal 2020-21. CSR fund worth Rs 1409.54 Crore was spent across Gujarat during the last financial year. Over 2037 companies participated in CSR projects in the state. The largest CSR spenders in the state included Maruti Suzuki India Limited, Cadila Healthcare Limited, and Torrent Power Limited who spent Rs. 91.83 crores, Rs. 78.54 crores, and Rs. 34.55 crores respectively. The highest focus of CSR spending was on projects related to the healthcare sector (Rs. 667.21 Crore), education (Rs. 488.95 Crore), and environmental sustainability (Rs. 105.75 Crore).
Karnataka
Among the highest spenders on corporate social responsibility, the State of Karnataka enjoys the warm support of corporates, mostly comprising technology companies that are conscious of societal welfare. Private companies in Karnataka spend CSR funding largely on health, education and environmental initiatives.
Organisations like Infosys, Wipro, Accenture, Biocon, Sobha, Bosch, ABB India, Titan have not only been running CSR projects for decades, they also contributed heavily to the Karnataka Chief Minister’s Relief Fund during the first and second waves of COVID-19. Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa has nothing but appreciation for the corporates operating in his State.
Karnataka has received the third-highest share of CSR funds spent in FY 2020-21. This accounted for the spending of Rs. 1259.54 Crore in the state. About 1967 companies participated in CSR projects in the state. The largest CSR spenders in the state included Infosys Limited, Wipro Limited, and Mangalore Refinery And Petrochemicals Limited, who spent Rs. 176.83 Crore, Rs. 52.4 Crore, and Rs. 23.12 Crore respectively. The highest focus of CSR spending was on projects related to the healthcare sector (Rs. 516.04 Crore), education (Rs. 398.69 Crore), and environmental sustainability (Rs. 142.8 Crore).
