India CSR Report 2019 by Srinivasan Girija;Srinivasan N.;

Author:Srinivasan, Girija;Srinivasan, N.;
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 5763113
Publisher: SAGE Publications India Pvt, Ltd.

Table 5.3: Top Purposes of CSR Spends, 2016–17

As far as geographical deployment of CSR funds is concerned, PSEs spent the maximum amount in Andhra Pradesh, followed by Assam, Odisha, Gujarat, and Delhi in 2016–17. The top five states took up 31.4% of the total spends of public sector companies (Table 5.4).

Table 5.4: Top States in Public Sector CSR Spends

A majority of PSEs in 2016–17 had implemented their projects through external agencies. Many of these projects were awarded on the basis of tender and a significant proportion through nomination of specific NGOs as implementing partners. The CAG also commented that about 25% of the PSEs did not carry out any base line or need assessment survey prior to finalizing the CSR proposals. The PSEs work very well within the admissible costs ceilings for operating the CSR projects. As against a permitted ceiling of 5% of the total CSR expenditure toward administrative overheads, the PSEs were found to operate at an expenditure level of around 2.52%. The PSUs had also complied with the requirement that any income or surplus generated out of CSR projects should be ploughed into CSR and not taken into business incomes. In its report on India CSR Outlook 2018,3 CSR Box had found that CSR compliance with regard to spending committed amounts was 96% against public sector companies. (The study covers 359 large companies that are listed of which 35 companies were large public sector entities.) Of the top 10 CSR spenders in 2017–18, three were public sector companies. Coal India had exceeded its mandated CSR expenditure by a large margin as against about `8 crore it was supposed to spend during the year, it had actually spent `24.3 crore which is about 3 times of the mandated limit.

The guidelines provided by DPE, originally (since withdrawn in the year 2016), mandated that the companies should go beyond CSR to thinking about sustainability of business in the local area which also includes active engagement with customers and population around the operating area of the company. With close monitoring, oversight, and guidance from multiple levels such as the board, the DPEs, the nodal ministry under which the companies operate, the CAG, and also the parliamentary standing committee on public enterprises, the PSUs deliver a superior performance in relation to the chosen CSR projects. However, the criticism, if any, would be of excessive involvement in areas such as education, health care, and environment. Focus on livelihood projects that improve incomes and skill building, leading to employment as well as micro enterprises seems to be somewhat weak. This is an area for the PSUs to actively consider and expand.

The Parliamentary Committee on Public Undertakings carried out a detailed examination of CSR with regard to public sector companies and came out with insights and suggestions in its 14th report.4

The Committee commented that the spirit of CSR should be serving the interest of the “most marginalized sections of the society” in line with Antyodaya philosophy. As such CSR is not mere charity/donation

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