Make CSR sweat

Indian companies would do well to focus more on improving quality of outcome of CSR spending mandated in the Companies Act 2013. That requires them to address the problems afflicting the country not just at a superficial level but correcting some of the root causes too. So far their activities have been limited to tried and tested development areas. As a recent CII-ITC Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Development report points out, distributing books and school uniforms doesn’t necessarily improve quality of education, conducting blood donation camps doesn’t improve health standards, and constructing toilets is not sufficient to change hygiene habits.

The returns on the money spent on funding books would be greater if the emphasis was also on learning outcomes. That would require after-school support particularly for first-generation learners to cope with homework and revisions. Currently, many poor parents spend money on private tuitions for their wards studying in government-run schools. Programmes to bring children who have dropped out of school, again mostly first-generation learners, back into the education system by reigniting their interest in learning would go a long way to keep pre-teens and adolescents from taking to petty crime and substance abuse. Regular health camps and chains of primary healthcare clinics for women and children in poor neighbourhoods with a focus on preventive healthcare would not only lower mortality among the vulnerable but also ensure fewer cases of illness.

For now, it is welcome that companies have shed their initial reservations about Companies Act mandated CSR spending and have loosened their purse-strings. Spending by 1,270 companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange rose 27 per cent in 2015-16 to ₹8,185 crore. More encouraging is that the companies are setting up foundations to take up CSR projects instead of taking the easy compliance route of contributing to the PM’s National Relief Fund.

Senior Deputy Editor

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