The Housing Development Finance Corporation with the largest number of home loan customers has spent Rs. 189 Cr on CSR during FY 2020 – 21. The Corporation has paid Rs. 112.73 Crore for CSR expenditure to H T Parekh Foundation, section 8 company controlled by the Corporation.
Housing Development Finance Corporation has spent over Rs. 573 Cr towards CSR in last three years.
In accordance with Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013, Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited has spent Rs. 189.82 Crores (Previous Year Rs. 211 Crores) on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) during FY 2020-21, which is more than the prescribed CSR expenditure of 169.21 crores. The amount includes capital assets amounting to Rs. 39.46 Crore under construction as of 31 March 2021.
The Corporation has paid Rs. 112.73 Crore for CSR expenditure to H T Parekh Foundation, a section 8 company controlled by the Corporation. The Corporation does not have any unspent amount as of 31 March 2021.
The Corporation having 3,226 employees has fulfilled its entire CSR obligation for FY 2020-21 (including carry forward of unspent CSR of FY 2015-16), on both ongoing and other than ongoing projects. Accordingly, no amount has been transferred to the Unspent CSR account.
“As per Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013, the Corporation is required to spend an amount of Rs. 169.21 Crore on CSR activities during the year. The Board of Directors of the Corporation has approved an amount of CSR Rs. 189.82 Crore, including brought forward CSR Obligation of FY 2015-16 Rs. 20.06 Crore, which was spent during the year”, the company said.
During the year, the Corporation’s CSR activities focused primarily on COVID-19 relief, education, healthcare, livelihoods, and supporting persons with disabilities. Other interventions taken up during the year included support for senior citizen homes, support for Olympic athletes including para-athletes, and environmental programs supporting solid waste management, green energy, and ecological restoration for urban and rural communities.
The Corporation contributed directly and through the H T Parekh Foundation to the identified social sectors. The Corporation prioritised key sub-thematic areas within each of these sectors to ensure that the CSR interventions were targeted most optimally.
CSR Spending in Last Three Years
| Year | CSR Spending (Rs. In Crores) |
| 2020-21 | 189.00 |
| 2019-20 | 211.00 |
| 2018-19 | 173.52 |
| Total |
An updated CSR Policy
Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited has a Board-approved Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Policy in compliance with section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013 and the rules made thereunder. Pursuant to the amendments to Companies (Corporate Social Responsibility Policy) Rules, 2014 on January 22, 2021, the CSR Policy has been amended and approved by the Board at its meeting held on May 7, 2021, and the amended Policy effective from 1 April 2021. The main objective of the CSR Policy is to lay down guidelines to make CSR a key business process and support programs aimed at the development of communities that are inequitably endowed.
The CSR policy of the Corporation inter alia provides guiding principles for selection and implementation of CSR activities in pursuance of Schedule VII to the Companies Act, 2013 (Clause VI), roles and responsibilities of the CSR Committee (Clause VII), guidance for the formulation of an annual action plan (Clause VIII), the process for implementation of CSR activities (Clause IX), modalities of monitoring and evaluation framework (Clause X), manner of undertaking impact assessment (Clause XI) and reporting mechanism.
CSR Philosophy
The Corporation believes in conducting its business responsibly, fairly, and in a transparent manner. It continually seeks ways to bring about an overall positive impact on the society and environment. The Corporation has been making consistent efforts over the years towards the economic and social upliftment of the marginalized and vulnerable sections of society.
The H T Parekh Foundation
The Corporation primarily implements its CSR initiatives through the H T Parekh Foundation (Foundation), a Section 25 registered charitable institution set up by HDFC in October 2012, to commemorate the legacy of its Founder Chairman, Shri H T Parekh. The CSR mandate of the Corporation is undertaken either directly or through partnerships with implementing agencies with a proven track record of expertise, governance, and implementation ability.
The Core CSR theme
The CSR projects undertaken by the Corporation are within the framework of Schedule VII of the Companies Act, 2013. The Corporation’s CSR projects are focused on 4 core sectors of Education, Healthcare, Livelihoods, and supporting Persons with Disabilities as a separate target group. The Corporation also recognizes the need to play a strong role in ensuring Environmental Sustainability; therefore, programs in the areas of solid waste management, green energy, and ecological restoration are part of its CSR activities.
| Particular | Amount (Rs in Crores) |
| Two percent of average net profit of the company as per section 135(5) | 169.21 |
| Unspent CSR of FY 2015-16 carried forward & spent in the current year | 20.06 |
| Total amount spent for the Financial Year | 189.82 |
| Excess amount spent for the financial year | 0.55 |
| Surplus arising out of the CSR projects or programs or activities of the previous financial years, if any | NA |
| The Amount available for set off in succeeding financial years | 0.55 |
CSR Registration number is mandatory from April 1, 2021 (FY 2021-22). The CSR Registration number of the Corporation’s key implementing agency, H T Parekh Foundation is CSR00000821
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Committee
The Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) committee comprises the Chairman, one independent director, and three whole-time directors of the Corporation. The present members are Deepak S. Parekh (Chairman), Jalaj Dani, Keki M. Mistry, Renu Sud Karnad and V. Srinivasa Rangan.
The terms of reference of the committee inter alia include formulation and implementation of CSR policy, approval of CSR activities, chalking out an annual action plan, recommending the amount of expenditure to be incurred on CSR activities to the board, approval of ongoing projects, and review and approval of projects/programs to be supported by the Corporation.
During the year under review, the committee met thrice. The meetings were held on May 25, 2020, November 2, 2020, and March 20, 2021.
Group CSR Spending
As per Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013, the Group is required to spend an amount of Rs. 225.19 Crore on CSR activities during the year. An amount of CSR Rs. 251.22 Crore, including brought forward CSR Obligation of FY 2015-16 Rs. 20.06 Crores, which was spent during the year, was approved by the Board of Directors of the Group and respective subsidiaries.
