This is what Indian IT companies spend CSR money on

Indian IT firms spend a big part of their annual revenue on CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) funds. A survey suggests that most of the IT companies spent their 2016-17's CSR fund on education.

Nasscom Foundation, the top industry body published the report at CSR Leadership Conference on Wednesday. According to the survey, 76% of the IT companies spend most part their CSR fund on education. CSR rules apply to over 5000 BSE-listed companies in the country. The companies with a net worth of Rs 500 crore or revenue of Rs 1000 crore need to spend at least 2% of their average profit in CSR.

Shrikant Sinha, the chief executive of Nasscom said, "The IT/BPM Industry has been at the forefront of social development initiatives and it is heartening to see the industry emerging as one of the most efficient and innovative adopters of corporate social responsibility. Technology continues to be a force multiplier in social impact, with more than half of the companies that spent 100 percent of their CSR funds, claiming the efficient use of technology to deliver CSR programmes aligned to the government agenda."

While 76% of the companies spend the highest amount of their CSR fund on education, only 18% spent on gender equality in the last year. In the fiscal year 2016-17, companies are increasingly putting efforts in the hunger and poverty area. This year, only 5% IT companies reported spending less than 50% of the committed CSR budget. 

A survey report titled "Catalysing Change" talks about the number of companies that actually spend the CSR budget for a social cause. Around 62% of the Indian and multi-national companies spent 100% of their CSR funds on education and related activities. IT companies with revenue less than Rs 100 crore too are actively spending their CSR funds.

58% of the large firms and 53% of the medium firms are spending 100% of their CSR fund. While 73% small firms spend 100% of their CSR budget. Following the last few year's record, education still remains to be the focus area of IT firms.

- Rajat Kabade