BY Rusen Kumar
NEW DELHI (India CSR): Amount required to be spent by ITC Limited during the year as per Section 135 read with Section 198 of the Companies Act, 2013 was Rs. 362.56 Crores (2021 – Rs. 357.17 Crores) being 2% of the average Net Profit of the Company amounting to Rs. 363.19 Crores less set-off of excess CSR spend of Rs. 0.63 Crore of FY 2020-21.
ITC’s overarching commitment to creating significant and sustainable societal value is manifest in its CSR initiatives that embrace the most disadvantaged sections of society, especially in rural India, through economic empowerment based on grassroots capacity building.
Expenditure CSR incurred during the year was Rs. 363.37 Crores (2021 – Rs. 357.80 Crores) comprising employee benefits expense of Rs. 15.92 Crores (2021 – Rs. 14.96 Crores) and other expenses of Rs. 347.45 Crores (2021 – Rs. 342.84 Crores), of which Rs. 26.01 Crores (2021 – Rs. 11.94 Crores) is accrued for payment as of 31st March 2022. This includes an amount of Rs. 3.90 Crores about the ongoing project of FY 2021-22, which has been deposited in the Unspent CSR Account in April 2022.
Average net profits of the Company as per Section 135(5) amounted to Rs. 17,744.39 crores.
Also Read: ITC Limited spends Rs. 291 Cr on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs
Such CSR expenditure excludes Rs. 5.85 Crores (2021 -Rs. 5.72 Crores) being the excess expenditure of salaries of CSR personnel and administrative expenses over the limit of 5% of total CSR expenditure laid down under Rule 7(1) of the Companies (Corporate Social Responsibility Policy) Rules, 2014 applies to individual entities.
CSR activities undertaken during the year pertains to poverty alleviation; promoting education and skill development; promoting healthcare including preventive healthcare; providing sanitation and drinking water; ensuring environmental sustainability; enabling climate resilience; rural development projects; creating livelihoods for people, especially those from disadvantaged sections of society; protection of national heritage, art and culture; preserving and promoting music; and providing relief and assistance to victims of disasters and calamities.
ITC’s overarching commitment to creating significant and sustainable societal value is manifest in its CSR initiatives that embrace the most disadvantaged sections of society, especially in rural India, through economic empowerment based on grassroots capacity building.
Towards this end, your Company has a comprehensive CSR Policy outlining programmes, projects and activities that your Company undertakes to create a significant positive impact on identified stakeholders.
All these programmes fall within the purview of Section 135 read with Schedule VII of the Companies Act, 2013 and the Companies (Corporate Social Responsibility Policy) Rules, 2014.
The CSR and Sustainability Committee provides strategic direction to the Company’s CSR and Sustainability practices towards fulfilling its Triple Bottom Line objectives.
Also Read: ITC Spends Rs. 306.95 Cr on CSR in FY 2018-19
The CSR and Sustainability Committee presently comprises the Chairman of the Company and seven Non-Executive Directors, three of whom are Independent Directors. The Chairman of the Company is the Chairman of the Committee.
The Company Secretary is the Secretary to the Committee.
The names of the members of the CSR and Sustainability Committee, including its Chairman, are provided under the section ‘Board of Directors and Committees’ in the Report and Accounts.
Towards this end, the Company has a comprehensive CSR Policy outlining programmes, projects and activities that your Company undertakes to create a significant positive impact on identified stakeholders.
All these programmes fall within the purview of Section 135 read with Schedule VII of the Companies Act, 2013 and the Companies (Corporate Social Responsibility Policy) Rules, 2014.
The key elements of its CSR interventions are to:
– deepen engagement in identified core operational geographies to promote holistic development and design interventions to respond to the most significant development challenges of your Company’s stakeholder groups.
– strengthen capabilities of Non-Government Organisations (NGOs)/Community Based Organisations (CBOs) in all project catchments for participatory planning, ownership and sustainability of interventions.
Also Read: FCRA rules; gives more time to declare funds
– drive the development agenda in a manner that empowers women and benefits the poor and marginalised communities in factory and agri-catchments, thereby significantly improving Human Development Indices (HDI).
– ensure behavioural change through focus on demand generation for all interventions, enabling participation, contribution and asset creation for the community.
– strive for scale with impact by leveraging government partnerships and accessing the most contemporary knowledge/technical know-how.
