Gujarat received Rs 610.85 cr, second highest in Corporate Social Responsibility spends

Gujarat was the second largest beneficiary of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) spending in the last year, an analysis of CSR spending by more than 1,000 companies listed on National Stock Exchange (NSE) shows.

Gujarat received Rs 610.85 crore spending on CSR by 466 companies in financial year 2017-18, which was the second highest after Maharashtra, which received Rs 817.30 crore spending on CSR activities by 586 companies, an analysis by nseinfobase.com shows. Maharashtra received 8.15 per cent and Gujarat 6.09 per cent of the total CSR spends.

Rajasthan (Rs486.70 crore), Karnataka (Rs476.69 crore) and Tamil Nadu (Rs451.46 crore) were ranked third, fourth, and fifth respectively in receiving CSR funds, the analysis shows.

In Gujarat, the state government had established the Gujarat CSR Authority to help companies execute CSR projects. 

“We are assisting state PSUs as well as a few corporates in identifying and executing CSR projects. Many of these projects relate to livelihood generation, entrepreneurship development, water conservation, and welfare of special children, besides other areas,” Pankaj Kamliya, COO of the Authority, told DNA.

As per the CSR law, which came into force in April 2014, companies are required to invest 2 per cent of their net profit in CSR projects. The analysis shows that 1,080 companies listed on NSE spent Rs 10,030 crore towards CSR activities during the year, which was Rs 9,060 crore last year.

Pranav Haldea, MD of Prime Database Group, which has developed and powers nseinfobase.com, said that CSR expenditure by the companies has grown at 16 per cent in the last four years.

According to Haldea, the companies spent Rs 3,817 crore on education and vocation skills as a part of their CSR works, the maximum for any category, followed by hunger, poverty and healthcare with Rs 2,508 crore.

The companies spent Rs 1,182 crore on environmental sustainability, Rs 1,068 crore on rural development activities, and Rs 392.60 crore on national heritage.

Maharashtra and Gujarat also occupied the top slots in terms of increase in amounts received over last year. Maharashtra received Rs 132.27 crore more this year, and Gujarat Rs 108.71 crore.

Delhi (Rs 98.47 crore), West Bengal (Rs 84.79 crore) and Rajasthan (Rs 76.16 crore), were the other states which witnessed highest rise in CSR expenditure.

The analysis shows that as many as eight states and Union Territories witnessed a drop in CSR spend. Kerala led the pack with Rs 33.69 crore decline in 2017-18, followed by Goa (Rs 13.29 crore), and Dadra & Nagar Haveli (Rs 11.08 crore).