According to their annual reports, the major Indian companies that are listed on the National Stock Exchange collectively spent Rs. 7,795.98 Cr. on their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities in the previous financial year.
These businesses collectively spent 7,518.23 Cr. on CSR in FY21. Companies are required to contribute at least 2% of their net profit over the previous three years to CSR under Section 135 of the Companies Act.
The Largest CSR Spenders
Reliance Industries Ltd. spent the highest on CSR among the Nifty 50 firms in FY22 (Rs. 813 Cr.). According to its annual report, it spent 76 Cr.s more than the 737 Cr. which it was obligated. Of this, Rs. 475 Cr. was allocated to healthcare, including Covid assistance, Rs. 202 Cr. to education, and Rs. 101 Cr. to rural development. RIL continued to be the top CSR spender among the Nifty 50 firms in FY21, spending a staggering $922 Cr., over half of which (452 Cr.) went to education.
RIL was followed in FY22 by HDFC Bank Ltd, which spent Rs. 736.01 Cr. on CSR, which is an increase of Rs. 101.1 Cr. from the year before. The highest funding was also given to health and education by HDFC Bank. The following company, Tata Consultancy Services Ltd, comes in at Rs. 727 Cr. Tata Steel Ltd at Rs. 405.97 Cr. and Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Ltd at Rs. 472.29 Cr.
Each of the companies spent more than the mandated amount. In FY22, Tata Steel overspent its CSR budget by Rs. 139.4 Cr.
In FY21, the biggest spenders after RIL were Tata Consultancy Services Ltd, HDFC Bank Ltd, Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Ltd, and ITC Ltd.
Bajaj Finserv, with a budget of just Rs. 0.45 Cr., spent the least on CSR in FY22. Bharti Airtel, which spent Rs. 1.6 Cr., was exempted from CSR spending in the previous financial year. Coal India Ltd spent Rs. 6.81 Cr., Adani Enterprises Ltd spent Rs. 12.87 Cr., and Tata Consumer Products Ltd spent Rs. 13.54 Cr. on CSR.
