Since India legally mandated Corporate Social Responsibility in 2014, companies have evolved from viewing this as statutory compliance to taking a nuanced view by aligning these spends to their strategy and corporate purpose.

The initial years saw CSR money being directed towards projects (- build a school). There is now a perceptible shift towards causes and SDGs (‘Quality education’). The last few years have also seen a shift from being able to tick the box by getting the money out of the door, to focusing on the governance structures and process and measuring its impact.

Twp years ago, the pandemic severely impacted CSR activities. The disruptions and lockdowns hampered many ongoing CSR projects, particularly in the areas of education and health. Although this was offset by corporates playing a crucial role in supporting the governments relief efforts and the vaccination drive, the actual CSR spend for the S+P BSE 100 companies came down from Rs 102.7 bn in 2020 to Rs 93.3 bn in 2021. And it is to corporate India’s credit that despite the lockdowns, spends remained above the prescribed minimum.

With the COVID induced disruption behind, we have seen an uptick in CSR spends to Rs. 94.9 bn in FY22 in FY22 from Rs 93.3 bn in FY21. This comes with the realization that CSR funds should complement government spending and align with corporate goals to amplify impact.

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