Total CSR spend may cross `50,000 crore by March 2019

Mumbai: The total corporate social responsibility (CSR) spending by the top 500 companies in the country since the applicability of mandatory CSR in 2014 is likely to cross Rs 50,000 crore by March 2019, said a report.

The CSR compliance is also likely to improve and fall in the range of 97 to 98 per cent by financial year 2019-20, according to a research done by development sector platforms CSRBOX and NGOBOX.

"Mandatory CSR has gradually formalised the corporate philanthropy with emphasis on impacts on the ground. With on an average Rs 12,000 crore funding annually, there is a lot that can be done in education, healthcare and rural development areas," said Bhomik Shah, chief executive officer, NGOBOX and CSRBOX.

The government in 2014 made mandatory for companies to spend 2 per cent of their three-year average annual net profit on CSR activities in each financial year, starting from FY15.

The norms are applicable to firms with at least Rs 5 crore net profit or Rs 1,000 crore turnover or Rs 500 crore net worth.

The report also revealed that the top 20 corporations command over 45 per cent of the prescribed CSR in the country.

In addition, the top 500 companies, which contribute to over 90 per cent of the total CSR spend, are estimated to spend over Rs 11,000 crore on social initiatives in FY19, the report said.

In terms of sectors, education is expected to be the most favoured area of CSR investment in the coming years.

In terms of states, Maharashtra receives the biggest chunk of the total CSR fund spent in the country, followed by Rajasthan, Karnataka and Gujarat, together accounting for one third of the country's total CSR spends, the report said.

The north-eastern states of Nagaland, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura have received lowest CSR funding so far.