Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is big business, with the CSR fund investment in India set to cross the ₹50,000-crore mark by March 2019.

Education and skills development projects in the domain of CSR are likely to receive ₹15,000 crore, according to a report.

CSR compliance

Tracking and projecting the CSR fund-flow of the first five years of compliance (FY14-15 to FY 18-19), a research done by development sector platforms —CSRBOX and NGOBOX — has found that with ₹11,000-14,000 crore annual inflow for development interventions through CSR, India has taken a lead in pushing the idea of corporate philanthropy in boardrooms and engaging top-management with government’s efforts.

Commenting on the big picture of CSR in India, the report says CSR compliance in-line with the prescribed limit is set to increase and reach 97-99 per cent by FY2019-20.

Education will be the most preferred intervention area for companies, especially companies with medium CSR budget, with the theme expected to remain a favourite for years to come.

“Traditionally, corporates have been writing cheques for government-instituted funds when they did not have expertise on development issue. The scenario is reversing now, with the government taking the support of companies to show impact on the ground,” said Bhomik Shah, CEO, NGOBOX and CSRBOX.

Maharashtra leads

The report shows Maharashtra has received the biggest chunk of the total CSR fund spent in the country, while Rajasthan, Karnataka, Gujarat and Maharashtra together receive 1/3rd of India’s total CSR spend. Maharashtra is set to receive over ₹7,400 crore development sector boost through CSR, notes the report.

Spending on CSR was made mandatory for companies falling under certain criteria of annual profit or turnover. An estimate by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs shows India has 13,000-15,000 companies falling under the CSR mandate.

In order to comply with CSR rules, some 500 top domestic companies have lined up over ₹11,000 crore on social initiatives in the current fiscal. While education and skills development projects got a major fillip between 2014-15 and 2018-19; healthcare, water and sanitation initiatives received substantial corporate attention due to the government’s Swachh Bharat Mission and are set to receive ₹14,000 crore CSR fund by March 31, 2019, according to the report.

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