New Delhi, 12 July, 2021: Wipro Limited, a leading global information technology, consulting, and business process services company, has spent a whopping amount of Rs. 251.2 crores on various Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities in the financial year 2020-21. The CSR spent by the company for the year is 52% more than its CSR obligation as per the CSR policies.
For the year 2020-21, the average net profit in the previous three financial years stood at Rs. 8281.7 crores. Accordingly, the company had a CSR obligation of Rs. 165.6 crores for this year, calculated as 2% of its average net profits over last three years as per section 135(5). However, the company exceeded the limit by more than 51 % by spending Rs. 85.6 crores more than its CSR prescribed CSR budget.
Wipro CSR 2020-21 - Key expenditure
| SN | Project Name | Amount Spent (in crores) |
| 1 | Higher Education for Skills Building | 93.2
|
| 2 | Renewable Energy | 37.1 |
| 3 | COVID Relief | 86.8 |
| 4 | Education for Underprivileged | 7.65 |
| 5 | Education: Systemic Reforms | 7.8 |
According to the company, the implementation of Wipro’s CSR programs happened through multiple channels—Wipro Foundation, a separate trust set up in April 2017; Wipro Cares, a trust for employee contributions that are matched by Wipro and in some cases, directly through functions and groups within Wipro Limited.
WIPRO CSR 2020-21 Statistics:
- Average net profit of Wipro Ltd (calculated for three preceding financial years, i.e., FY 2017-18, FY 2018-19, and FY 2019-20): Rs. 8281.7 crores
- Two percent of average net profits: Rs. 165.6 crores
- CSR amount spent against other than ongoing projects for the financial year: Rs. 70.5 crores
- Amount spent in Administrative Overheads: Rs. 4.2 crores
- Total Amount Spent for the Financial Year: Rs. 251.2 crores
- Excess amount for set off: Rs. 85.6 crores (Rs. 251.2 crores- Rs. 165.6 crores)
Wipro CSR on CVOID Relief
COVID-19 relief: In the early stages of the pandemic (March-June), Wipro’s response was focused on humanitarian relief in cities that were severely affected and where it has a significant operational presence—Bengaluru, Chennai, NCR, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Hyderabad. In parallel, the company along with Azim Premji Foundation developed and implemented a strategic response to the COVID-19 healthcare challenge that extended for most of the year. The response addressed in-depth the entire spectrum of issues from awareness creation to testing, isolation, and hospital care.
The company spent around Rs 86.8 Cr on its COVID related relief activities. "In April 2020, Wipro Limited committed Rs. 100 crores towards tackling the unprecedented health and humanitarian crisis arising from the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak and out of that an amount of Rs. 86.8 crore was spent. Our company’s COVID response involved working closely with around 100 Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) who were engaged directly on the ground in supporting affected communities." states the annual report of the company.
Further, the company continued its focus on the Education for its CSR activities. The School Education program of Wipro started in 2001, and it continues to be the cornerstone of its CSR initiatives. In 2015, the company initiated the Wipro Education Fellowship program under the School Education programs. Its partners work on close to ten thematic areas and the impact has been in the areas of curriculum, textbooks, teacher capacity, and school leadership among other aspects.
Wipro CSR Committee
William Arthur Owens is the Chairman of the CSR committee at Wipro. Other key members of the committee include M. K. Sharma and Ireena Vittal.
