CSR spend rose 9 pc to Rs 8,897 cr in FY17: Report

A total of 1,522 BSE-listed companies spent Rs 8,897 crore, or 92 per cent of the budgeted Rs 9,680 crore on corporate social responsibility activities in 2016-17, an increase of about 9 per cent from the previous year, according to a report.

The Annual CSR Tracker compiled by CII revealed that the number of BSE-listed companies required to fulfil the mandate has also increased to 1,522 in FY17 from 1,270 in FY16 and 1,181 in FY15.

Under the Companies Act, 2013, certain class of profitable entities are required to shell out at least 2 per cent of their three-year annual average net profit towards corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities.

The survey suggests a substantial increase in CSR spends as against FY16 in the areas of environment and ecology (66 per cent), gender equality (115 per cent), national heritage (153 per cent) and sports development (192 per cent).

However, there was no CSR spend in the areas of technology incubation or slum development by a single public sector enterprise (PSE) in FY17. Moreover, slum development did not receive any funds from state-owned enterprises in the previous year either.

The overall increase in CSR spends in FY17 as compared to the previous year is 8.70 per cent. Development areas that show maximum increase in the CSR spends as against FY16 are sports development, national heritage, gender equality and environment