Though there may be some defaulters in the PSU list and PSUs also under spent on CSR, there was no PSUs in the list of “NIL CSR Expenditure Companies” among 460 companies. As far as Top 10 spenders in absolute terms are concerned during FY16, there are 5 companies viz. NTPC, ONGC, South Eastern Coalfields, Central Coalfields, NMDC and Oil India, whereas IOC and BHEL remained at 11th and 12 spot respectively. Reliance Industries, Infosys, TCS and ITC saved the day for private companies.
When GDP Magazine compared CSR spending data of FY16 with FY15, an interesting picture has emerged. Out of top 1000 spender companies of FY16, just 416 companies were present in the FY15 list, clearly showing reluctance of company management to share database of CSR spending and filing company’s return till the deadline of 31 December 2016, which is just 42% for top 1000 companies. Also among these 416 companies, CSR spending increased during FY16 viz a viz FY15 as these 416 companies spent Rs. 8369 crore during FY16, while they spent Rs. 6078 crore during FY15, an increase of Rs. 2291 crore or 37.7%.
In fact data compiled by GDP magazine for 2 years for top 416 companies, clearly shows that CSR spent by big private companies is on declining mode, while PSUs seem more responsible and it is because of PSUs, CSR spent has gone up during FY16. As far as top 10 spenders for FY16 are concerned, there are 5 PSUs in the top 10 list.
But there is an interesting picture attached to it. When we compared FY16 data with FY15 then we found that out of the top 10 companies that increased their CSR Spent in FY16 over FY15, 7 PSUs featured in the list, topped by NTPC with a whooping increase of Rs.286.6 crore over FY15 (Rs 205 crore). There were just three private companies-TCS, HDFC and HDFC bank- which have increased their CSR spent over last year.
On the other hand among the top 10 spenders that curtailed their CSR spent during FY16, there were 6 private companies that have cut their spending in comparison to FY15, lead by Reliance Industries, which curtailed the spending by whooping Rs 108 crore. Infosys, Jindal Steel and Power and Cairn India were other private companies that have slashed their CSR spent in a big way.
Importantly consumer durable major LG Electronics remained the least spender in the list with just Rs. 40 lakh CSR spent during FY16 and shockingly, its spending dropped from Rs 80 lakh in FY15. Other prominent names among least spenders include Minda Industries, PVR limited, Indian Hotels, Gitanjali Gems, Boeing International and DLF ltd.
Though there is a perception that PSUs have taken time to evolve and they have been a bit complacent about CSR but data is showing otherwise. In FY15 also it seems that private companies want to keep their mouth shut as far as CSR is concerned and many big guns have defaulted with zero spend on CSR. During FY15, Though there is no denying the fact the PSUs like ONGC, NTPC and NMDC have spent less to the prescribed limit on CSR but it is quite encouraging to see that they understand their responsibility towards the society and country, whereas private companies and MNCs like Apple India (79% less spent), Pfizer (79%), Nestle India (72% less spent) etc. seem insensitive towards society. Indian arms of other wellknown MNCs also figure in the defaulters list of FY15. Companies in the agriculture business like Monsanto, Syngenta figure in this list. Oracle Financial Services spent only Rs 11.93 crore against a prescribed amount of Rs 32.95 crore. Apple India spent only Rs 1.12 crore against a prescribed amount of Rs 5.45 crore. BMW India spent only Rs 0.02 crore against a prescribed amount of Rs 0.47 crore.
It seems that private companies don’t bother about the perception they inculcate from the society and only busy in making profits and nobody is there to question them, as only ROCs can send them a meager notice, nothing else. On the other hand PSUs works in a stringent controlled environment where they pass through scrutiny of parliament, CAG, CVC, etc. so they are more accountable and responsible.
| Top 10 Companies Whose CSR Spending Declined In FY16 | ||||
| S. No. | Company Name | FY16 (in Cr) | FY15 (In Cr) | Inc/Dec |
| 1 | RELIANCE INDUSTRIES LIMITED | 652.0 | 760.6 | -108.6 |
| 2 | ONGC | 421.0 | 495.2 | -74.2 |
| 3 | INFOSYS LIMITED | 202.3 | 239.5 | -37.2 |
| 4 | BHARAT HEAVY ELECTRICALS LIMITED | 66.2 | 102.1 | -35.9 |
| 5 | TAMILNADU NEWSPRINT & PAPERS | 3.7 | 37.3 | -33.6 |
| 6 | GAGANDEEP CREDIT CAPITAL PRIVATE | 1.0 | 25.0 | -24.0 |
| 7 | JINDAL STEEL AND POWER LIMITED | 26.7 | 49.8 | -23.1 |
| 8 | JBF INDUSTRIES LIMITED | 0.6 | 20.0 | -19.4 |
| 9 | CAIRN INDIA LIMITED | 51.5 | 70.3 | -18.8 |
| 10 | GUJARAT NARMADA VALLEY FERTILIZERS & CHEM. | 3.3 | 10.4 | -7.2 |
| Top 10 Companies Whose CSR Spending Increased In FY16 | ||||
| S. No. | Company Name | FY16 (in Cr) | FY15 (In Cr) | Inc/Dec |
| 1 | NTPC LIMITED | 491.8 | 205.2 | 286.6 |
| 2 | SOUTH EASTERN COALFIELDS | 270.9 | 40.4 | 230.4 |
| 3 | CENTRAL COALFIELDS LIMITED | 212.8 | 51.2 | 161.6 |
| 4 | POWER FINANCE CORPORATION | 195.5 | 51.7 | 143.8 |
| 5 | GAIL (INDIA) LIMITED | 160.6 | 41.4 | 119.2 |
| 6 | TATA CONSULTANCY SERVICES | 294.2 | 210.4 | 83.9 |
| 7 | REC | 128.2 | 46.0 | 82.2 |
| 8 | BPCL | 112.6 | 34.0 | 78.7 |
| 9 | HDFC | 85.7 | 8.8 | 76.9 |
| 10 | HDFC BANK LIMITED | 194.8 | 118.6 | 76.3 |
This article is part of Special Issue of GDP Magazine on CSR. Governance Democracy& Politics (GDP) Magazine’s Special Issue on #CSR Takes A Deep Dive on the state of CSR Spending. It has a regressive database of 5000+ companies on CSR Spending.
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