Companies spent Rs 1.09 trn towards CSR activities in 7 years: MCA

Companies shelled out Rs 1.09 lakh crore towards various CSR activities, including those related to health, education and poverty eradication, under the companies law in the last seven financial years, according to the corporate affairs ministry.

Under the Companies Act, 2013, certain class of profitable entities are required to spend at least 2 per cent of their three-year annual average net profit towards Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities during a fiscal.

Minister of State for Corporate Affairs Rao Inderjit Singh said on Monday that since the enactment of CSR provision from April 2014, companies are responding positively and have shown encouraging signs in adopting the culture of being responsible towards society.

"This is manifested through the increase in CSR spent by the companies during the period 2014-15 to 2020-21. During this period, companies have spent around Rs 1.09 lakh crore in different activities...," he said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

The activities include those related to health, education, poverty eradication, hunger, women empowerment, welfare of armed forces veterans, environment, sports, rural development, slum development and welfare of weaker sections.

On the basis of filings made by the companies in the MCA21 registry till September 30, 2021, a cumulative amount of Rs 85,109.09 crore has been spent by companies under CSR during the financial years 2016-17 to 2020-21, Singh said.

Out of the total amount, Rs 46,654.52 crore have been spent by the top 100 companies during the same period.

Noting that the CSR architecture is disclosure-based, Singh said the philosophy is to engage corporates as partners in the socio-economic development of the country by leveraging their managerial efficiency, best practices, technology and innovation in the delivery of public good and services.