Vedanta spends more than double its mandated CSR budget for FY21

New Delhi, 9 December 2021: Vedanta Limited, a mining company has spent more than double of its prescribed CSR budget for the financial year ending March 31 2021. With a major focus on education, healthcare, women empowerment and environment, the company managed to spend an amount of Rs.38.86 crore towards Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as per Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013. This amount was 234 percent of its mandatory CSR obligation. 

Vedanta Limited has its main operations in iron ore, gold and aluminum mines in Goa, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Odisha.

The company’s average net profit for the past three years stood at Rs 831.02 crore. Therefore, the company’s CSR obligation calculated as 2 percent of the net profit of the past three years amounted to Rs 16.62crore. The amount spent on administrative overheads was Rs 1.41 crore. However, the company went a step ahead and spent Rs 22.24 crore over and above its mandatory CSR obligation, taking its actual CSR send for the financial year to Rs Rs.38.86 crore. The excess amount for setoff will be Rs 22.24crore.

The company’s CSR projects focused on poverty alleviation programmes, especially integrated development, which impacts the overall socio-economic growth and empowerment of people, in line with the national and international development agendas.

The company’s major thrust areas were:

• Children’s well-being & education
• Women’s empowerment
• Healthcare
• Drinking water & sanitation
• Sustainable agriculture & animal welfare
• Market-linked skilling of the youth
• Environment protection & restoration
• Sports &culture
• Development of community infrastructure
• Participate in programmes of national importance including but not limited to disaster mitigation, rescue, relief, and rehabilitation

The annual report of the company states, “As we stand today, our flagship CSR initiative for women and children has touched a new milestone, with the setting up of 2,300+ NandGhars in 11 states. It continues to pave the way for the model Anganwadi movement across the country and till date, we have positively touched the lives of 52,000 women and 65,000 children through the initiative.”

The company’s CSR committee is headed by the chairperson Mahendra Kumar Sharma. Other key members are Priya Agarwal, UK Sinha, K Venkataramanan, and Padmini Somani.

“Our CSR Council, led by a senior business leader, and including CSR Heads and CSR Executives from all business units, meets every month and reviews the performance, spends and outcome of CSR programmes across units. Governed by our in-house CSR Policy and Sustainability Framework, the Council is responsible for governance, synergy and cross-learning across the Group’s CSR efforts,” stated the annual report of Vedanta.

The company had spent an amount of Rs.53 crore towards CSR in the last financial year.