The CSR spend of public sector undertakings fell 10% in 2016-17 from a year ago, even as the total expenditure on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities by NSE-listed companies saw an increase of 5%, according to data from PRIME Database.
The total social spend of 49 PSUs went down to Rs 2,630 crore from Rs 2,935 crore spent by 46 PSUs in 2015-16, the data showed.
As per CSR rules, which came into force in April 2014, companies subject to the provisions of the law have to mandatorily invest 2% of their net profit in CSR projects. Companies with net worth of Rs 500 crore and above or revenue of Rs 1,000 crore and above or net profit of Rs 5 crore and above have to spend 2% of average net profits of the past three years.
The average net profit of 1,000 companies surveyed over the past three years was Rs 4.79 lakh crore (in 2015-16 it was Rs 4.59 lakh crore). As per CSR requirements, the amount required to be spent by such companies was Rs 9,504 crore (2015-16: Rs 9,120 crore).
The companies, however, went one step further and decided to spend Rs 9,765 crore instead (2015-16: 9,298 crore), Rs 261 crore more than the requirement.
However, Rs 1,563 crore eventually remained unspent (2015-16: Rs 1,966 crore) and the final actual CSR expenditure by these companies was Rs 8,806 crore (2015-16: Rs 8,363 crore), an increase of 5%.
In comparison to previous year, spends under Schedule VII (VI) ensuring environment sustainability saw the maximum increase of 31% to Rs 714 crore in 2016-17.
Of the 1,588 companies, 801 had such a CSR committee in place. Several companies, however, went beyond the requirement. According to Haldea, as many as 371 companies had appointed more than three members.
