According to the data from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), spending on corporate social responsibility (CSR) by companies has increased in the most backward districts of the country in the financial year 2021.
Data available on the ministry’s CSR portal showed that in FY2011, 8,632 companies spent ₹20,359 crore on 25,000 projects. Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Delhi and Tamil Nadu were the top recipients of CSR funds in FY2011.
The ministry told Parliament that businesses spent more than ₹507 crore in 84 backward districts identified by NITI Aayog in FY 2021, compared to nearly ₹332 crore spent in 82 aspirational districts in FY 2020.
The available data is as of December 31, 2021. The ministry clarified that the data for fiscal year 21 is subject to change, as the additional charges for late filing were not applied until March 15, 2022.
The ministry said CSR is a process conducted by a company’s board of directors that is empowered to plan, decide, execute and monitor such activities based on the recommendations of its CSR Committee. The ministry, in a written response to a question, said the government does not mandate companies to spend in any particular geographic area or activity.
Out of the ₹1.25 lakh crore which companies have spent as part of their mandatory corporate social responsibility (CSR) over the last seven years, only ₹8 crore — about 0.006 percent — has been spent in Nagaland, according to government data presented in the Rajya Sabha.