Aditya Birla Real Estate accounted for its Rs 6.42 crore CSR obligation through current-year spending and funding for an ongoing project.
NEW DELHI (India CSR): Aditya Birla Real Estate Limited (ABREL), a real estate company, reported a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) obligation of Rs 6.42 crore for FY 2025-26 and reached an estimated 58,433 beneficiaries through programmes covering healthcare, sanitation, education, rural infrastructure, women’s skill development and community welfare, according to the company’s annual report.
The company reported an average net profit of Rs 321.13 crore for calculating its statutory CSR requirement under Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013.
During the year, Rs 4.92 crore was reported as expenditure on eligible CSR initiatives, while Rs 1.50 crore was transferred to an Unspent CSR Account for an ongoing Assisted Living project. Together, these amounts account for the company’s Rs 6.42 crore CSR obligation for FY 2025-26.
The report also states that Rs 1.65 crore was utilised during the year from amounts transferred to the Unspent CSR Account in FY 2024-25. This expenditure relates to an earlier-year CSR obligation and should therefore be viewed separately from the FY 2025-26 statutory requirement.
CSR Spending
Under Section 135 of the Companies Act, companies meeting prescribed financial thresholds are required to spend at least 2% of their average net profit from the three immediately preceding financial years on eligible CSR activities.
For Aditya Birla Real Estate Limited, the average net profit used for this calculation stood at Rs 321.13 crore.
Its CSR obligation for FY 2025-26 was Rs 6.42 crore.
The annual report states that Rs 4.92 crore was spent during the financial year on approved CSR activities under Schedule VII of the Companies Act.
A further Rs 1.50 crore was transferred to a designated Unspent CSR Account for an ongoing Assisted Living project.
The company also reported administrative overheads of Rs 10 lakh.
The source material further refers to Rs 6.32 crore being directed towards CSR projects and Rs 10 lakh towards administrative overheads. These disclosures should be read with the statutory CSR annexure to determine whether the Rs 6.32 crore figure includes amounts transferred for ongoing projects or reflects a wider accounting classification.
The company also utilised Rs 1.65 crore from the previous year’s Unspent CSR Account during FY 2025-26.
Beneficiary Reach
ABREL reported reaching approximately 58,433 beneficiaries through its CSR programmes during FY 2025-26.
Healthcare and sanitation accounted for the largest disclosed beneficiary group, reaching 29,707 people.
Rural infrastructure programmes reached 16,500 beneficiaries, while sports-related activities were reported to have benefited around 5,000 people.
Education programmes reached 426 direct beneficiaries, while animal husbandry initiatives supported 500 beneficiaries.
The available figures indicate that the company’s CSR work was spread across different development areas. However, the report extract does not clarify whether the beneficiary categories are mutually exclusive or whether some individuals participated in more than one programme.
For this reason, project-level beneficiary numbers should not automatically be added together without confirming the company’s methodology for counting unique beneficiaries.
Health Programmes
Healthcare and sanitation programmes reached 29,707 beneficiaries, according to the report.
The company supported interventions relating to preventive healthcare, medical camps, blood donation, sanitation and access to safe drinking water.
Community initiatives were reported in locations including Hathikhana, Rajeev Nagar and Bengali Colony.
The source material also refers to the construction of toilets and provision of drinking water in communities located near company operations.
Some health-related services were also provided at commercial properties such as Birla Aurora and Birla Centurion. These included on-site nursing support, dietician consultations, eye and bone-density camps and emergency ambulance facilities.
Such workplace and property-level services should be distinguished from statutory CSR expenditure unless they were specifically classified as eligible CSR activities in the annual report.
This distinction is important because employee welfare and normal business operations are generally reported separately from community-focused CSR.
Education Support
Education programmes reached 426 direct beneficiaries during FY 2025-26.
One of the initiatives involved scholarships provided through A World of Opportunity Foundation, or AWOO.
The programme supports students seeking access to higher education and skill development opportunities.
The report also refers to school infrastructure improvement activities undertaken in government schools.
Some of these initiatives were associated with the company’s pulp and paper business during a period of corporate transition.
The source material does not provide the amount spent specifically on scholarships, the number of scholarships awarded or the educational institutions attended by beneficiaries.
More detail on completion rates, academic progression and employment outcomes would provide stronger evidence of long-term impact.
Women’s Skilling
Women’s empowerment and livelihood development were also included in the company’s CSR portfolio.
ABREL operated two Ladies/Girls Skill Development Centres at Bindukhatta, according to the report.
The centres provided vocational training aimed at helping women and girls develop skills that could support income generation.
The company also reported a Perul Collection initiative through which women from local communities collected 435 metric tonnes of pine needles during the first half of the financial year.
The activity had both livelihood and environmental objectives because removing dry pine needles can reduce combustible forest-floor material while also providing income opportunities.
The source material does not state how many women participated in the Perul programme or how much income they generated.
Such information would help assess the livelihood impact beyond the quantity of material collected.
Rural Development
Rural infrastructure projects reached 16,500 beneficiaries during the year.
The company reported activities in locations including Bindukhatta and Shantipuri in Uttarakhand’s Nainital and Udham Singh Nagar districts.
Projects included the construction of toilets and other community infrastructure.
ABREL also reported spending Rs 22.3 lakh in Aspirational Districts.
Aspirational Districts are identified under a government development programme focused on improving outcomes in relatively underdeveloped districts.
The source material does not provide the names of all Aspirational Districts covered by the expenditure or a complete project-wise spending breakdown.
The company also supported animal husbandry activities benefiting 500 people and provided cattle feed to a gaushala at Halduchaur.
Sports programmes in Nainital district reportedly reached around 5,000 people.
Assisted Living
A key ongoing CSR project during FY 2025-26 was an Assisted Living initiative.
The company transferred Rs 1.50 crore to its Unspent CSR Account for this project.
Under the CSR framework, amounts relating to eligible ongoing projects may be transferred to an Unspent CSR Account and utilised within the period prescribed under law.
The transfer indicates that the project was not fully implemented or financially completed within FY 2025-26.
The source material does not provide the project location, implementing partner, expected number of beneficiaries, total approved budget or scheduled completion date.
These details would be important for evaluating the project in future reporting periods.
Environmental Action
The company’s broader sustainability disclosures include large-scale plantation and biodiversity programmes.
ABREL reported planting around 2.22 crore saplings across more than 5,000 acres and has indicated a target of reaching 2.5 crore saplings by FY 2027-28.
The report links this programme with rural farming communities.
It also refers to biodiversity measures at real estate projects, including lake-edge conservation at Birla Trimaya in Bengaluru and tree transplantation initiatives in Pune.
However, large plantation and operational biodiversity programmes should not automatically be classified as statutory CSR unless the company’s CSR annexure specifically identifies them as eligible projects.
For environmental reporting, sapling survival rates, species diversity, land ownership, maintenance period and carbon sequestration methodology are important indicators.
Plantation numbers alone do not establish long-term ecological impact.
ESG Context
ABREL has also linked its broader sustainability strategy to a Net Zero 2050 ambition.
The source material refers to water conservation, biodiversity protection and green building standards across its real estate portfolio.
Projects such as Birla Niyaara and Birla Aurora were cited in relation to green building and energy performance.
These initiatives form part of the company’s ESG and operational sustainability framework.
They should be distinguished from CSR activities funded under Section 135 unless specifically included in the statutory CSR disclosure.
Separating CSR from ESG helps readers understand the difference between community investment and environmental improvements made as part of business operations.
CSR Governance
The company’s CSR Committee was reported to be chaired by Rajashree Birla.
Other members included Pramod Kabra, Preeti Vyas and Managing Director Rajendra Kumar Dalmia.
Pragnya Ram, Group Head of CSR, was reported as a permanent invitee.
The committee is responsible for recommending the CSR policy, annual action plans and expenditure and for monitoring project implementation.
The source material does not provide detailed information on committee meeting attendance, implementing agency registrations, monitoring reports or utilisation certificates.
More disclosure on these areas would strengthen understanding of the governance process behind project selection and expenditure.
Impact Evidence
The report provides a significant amount of beneficiary and financial data, but several outcomes require further detail.
The 58,433 beneficiary figure gives an indication of programme reach but does not, by itself, demonstrate changes in health, education, income or quality of life.
For skill programmes, useful indicators would include course completion, employment placement and income changes.
For healthcare, outcome data could include diagnoses, referrals and treatment completion.
For infrastructure programmes, information on facility usage and maintenance would be relevant.
For environmental interventions, survival rates, area restored and independently verified ecological outcomes would provide stronger evidence.
Future disclosures could also clarify whether the company conducted independent impact assessments and, if so, which projects were assessed and at what cost.
Key Facts Table
| Particulars | Details |
|---|---|
| Company | Aditya Birla Real Estate Limited |
| Financial Year | FY 2025-26 |
| Business Sector | Real Estate |
| Average Net Profit | Rs 321.13 Cr |
| Prescribed CSR Obligation | Rs 6.42 Cr |
| Reported Current-Year CSR Spend | Rs 4.92 Cr |
| Transferred to Unspent CSR Account | Rs 1.50 Cr |
| Administrative Overheads | Rs 10 lakh |
| Prior-Year Unspent Funds Utilised | Rs 1.65 Cr |
| Reported Beneficiaries | 58,433 |
| Healthcare and Sanitation Beneficiaries | 29,707 |
| Rural Infrastructure Beneficiaries | 16,500 |
| Education Beneficiaries | 426 |
| Sports Beneficiaries | About 5,000 |
| Animal Husbandry Beneficiaries | 500 |
| Aspirational District Spending | Rs 22.3 lakh |
| Perul Collected | 435 MT |
| Reported Saplings Planted | Around 2.22 Cr |
| Plantation Area | More than 5,000 acres |
| Ongoing CSR Project | Assisted Living |
| CSR Committee Chair | Rajashree Birla |
Frequently Asked Questions
How much was ABREL’s CSR obligation in FY 2025-26?
The company reported a prescribed CSR obligation of Rs 6.42 crore.
How much did the company spend during the year?
The annual report states that Rs 4.92 crore was spent on approved CSR initiatives during FY 2025-26.
How much was transferred for ongoing projects?
ABREL transferred Rs 1.50 crore to an Unspent CSR Account for an ongoing Assisted Living project.
How many people benefited from its CSR programmes?
The company reported approximately 58,433 beneficiaries during FY 2025-26.
What were the main CSR focus areas?
The programmes covered healthcare, sanitation, education, women’s skilling, rural infrastructure, sports and community development.
How much was spent in Aspirational Districts?
The company reported CSR spending of Rs 22.3 lakh in Aspirational Districts.
Copyright@India CSR®
