CPSEs spend crores in 'Aspirational Districts' under CSR but clueless about the job creation

New Delhi, 18 September 2020: Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) under Department of Heavy Industry under Ministry of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises have spent around Rs 25.05 crores on ‘Aspirational Districts’ in the past couple of years, however, they don’t have any idea about the impact of this programme on job creation.

In a response to questions asked by Vinay P Sahasrabudhhe, a parliamentarian from Maharashtra in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, union minister Prakash Javadekar informed that several CPSEs coming under Department of Heavy Industry are prioritizing Aspirational districts in their CSR activities.

CPSEs include Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) Andrew Yule & Co. Ltd. (AYCL), Bridge & Roof Co. (India) Ltd. (B&R), The Braithwaite Burn & Jessop Construction Co. Ltd. (BBJ) and Rajasthan Electronics & Instruments Ltd, the minister informed.

UNION GOVERNMENT CAME UP WITH ASPIRATIONAL DISTRICT PROGRAMME IN 2018 FOR THE OVERALL DEVELOPMENT OF THESE DISTRICTS

These companies were conveyed by the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) in December 2018 that Aspirational Districts may be given preference under CSR activities. Following this, these CPSEs increased their focus on Aspirational Districts and engaged in several CSR activities in these areas.

Javadekar informed that the CSR related activities or initiatives facilitated by BHEL in the Aspirational Districts during 2018-19 and 2019-20 were largely aimed towards community infrastructure development, renovation work, public conveniences & amenities, providing educational assistance & educational aids, skill development in different fields, like health, hygiene and sanitation.

However, in response to the specific question related to the details of number of new jobs created by these CSR activities, the minister said that the number of new jobs created by the aforesaid CSR related activities are not quantifiable.

It is worth knowing that ‘Aspirational Districts’ are the poorest districts in the country. The union government came up with Aspirational District programme in 2018 for the overall development of these districts.

Money spent by the CPSEs in the last two years in Aspirational Districts