Companies can bring meaningful changes in society through the huge Rs 13,624 crore corporate social responsibility funds https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/governance/csr-is-india-inc-spending-responsibly--69353
Such philanthropic initiatives have a long history in India. But the idea was brought into a legal framework in 2014 when CSR was introduced as a statutory obligation under Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013. Under this, every company with an annual net worth of over Rs 500 crore, turnover of over Rs 1,000 crore, or net profit of over Rs 5 crore, must spend at least 2 per cent of its net profit on CSR.
How funds flow
Human development, social welfare get a big bite from the CSR pie, environment is left with a small share
- Education, differently abled, livelihood generation
- Health, eradicating hunger, poverty and malnutrition, safe drinking water, sanitation
- Rural development
- Environment, animal welfare, conservation of resources
- Nature of projects not mentioned
- Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund, any other government fund
- Gender equality, women empowerment, old age homes, reducing inequalities
- Heritage art and culture
- Encouraging sports
by Ishan Kukreti
16/02/2020