By Rusen Kumar
MUMBAI: Avenue Supermarts Limited has contributed Rs. 35.59 crores during the financial year 2020-21 towards Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) community development projects, which is 2.39% of average profit for previous three years, computation as prescribed by the Companies Act, 2013.
Total CSR obligation for the financial year 2020-21 was Rs. 34.65 Crore (Rs. 29.71 Crores for FY 2020-21 and Rs. 4.94 Crores unspent amount for FY 2019-20).
The Company takes cognizance of sub-rule (3) of rule 8 of the Companies CSR Policy Rules 2014 and has initiated steps to conduct an impact assessment of CSR projects through an independent agency from the financial year 2021-22. There are no projects undertaken or completed after January 22, 2021, for which the impact assessment report is applicable in FY 2020-21, the company annual report said.
“We conduct a post-impact assessment for all our CSR initiatives which help us understand the effectiveness of these programs. Based on the outcome of these assessments, the Company plans corrective measures wherever necessary.”, the company annual report said.
The key CSR focus area of the company is on enhancing the quality of education in municipal schools. The intervention provides support to these schools within the state curriculum framework by enhancing the quality of teaching methodology so that student learning outcomes are better. The programme currently supports students from 6 Municipal Corporations of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai, Panvel, Mira Bhayander, and Kalyan Dombivali).
Ramesh Damani, Chairman of Avenue Supermarts Limited said, “Our CSR activity is directed towards primary education in municipal schools. Students faced significant disruption during the year, thus our team gradually reached out to students by using virtual learning environments and enabled them to continue their learning amidst this disruption. We continue to improvise on our efforts in this area.”
Avenue Supermarts Limited operates DMart, which was conceived by value investor Radhakishan Damani in the year 2000. The company is operating a single store in Maharashtra. With a mission to be the lowest priced retailer in its area of operation, DMart has grown steadily over the years and operates 234 stores in 11 states and 1 Union Territory. The Company has delivered stable performance across stakeholder metrics by focusing on financial fundamentals, with fortitude and strong conviction.
