West Bengal CSR funding grows 88 % in 5 yrs,just above national average; Edu gets major boost

New Delhi, 5 April 2021: The eastern state of West Bengal has witnessed its CSR fund growing by 88 % over 5 years, just a little above the country’s national average of CSR fund growth.

The national average growth in the CSR funding during the same period was close to 85 %.

According to the data available with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), the total CSR funding to the state was close to Rs 367 Cr in the year 2018-19. In the year 2014-15, the CSR funding to the state was just Rs 195 Cr.

More companies participating in CSR:

During the given period, the state witnessed a significant jump in the number of companies participating in the CSR activities. According to MCA, the number of companies undertaking CSR activity in the state grew to 749 in the year 2018-19 from just 287 in the year 2014-15.

Further, a few more districts in the state came under the ambit of CSR activities during the period. The state which had only 13 districts covered under the CSR activities in the year 2014-15, saw a total of 16 districts benefitting from CSR activities in the year 2018-19.

Education sector emerge biggest gainer

With more companies undertaking CSR activities in the state and the funding also increasing above the national average, the state witnessed key sectors getting the major boost. For example, the Education sector got more than 365 % funding boost.

Sample this: In the year 2014-15 the CSR spend on Education was just Rs 43.7 Cr. However, it grew to more than Rs 161 Cr in 2018-19.

The biggest gainer after the Education sector was the healthcare segment where the companies increased their activities.

List of biggest CSR contributors changes completely

During the 5-year period, the profile of companies contributing to the CSR changed significantly with Bandhan Bank emerging as the leading contributor to the CSR activities in the state in the year 2018-19. The private bank contributed a total of Rs 30 Cr for the CSR activities in the state. Further, the power utility company CESC emerged as the second biggest contributor with a funding of close to Rs 20 Cr followed by financial institution Millennnium Stock Broking Limited.

In 2014-15, the list of biggest contributors to the CSR activities in the state included ITC Limited followed by Coal India and Indian Oil.