BackTata CSR spending at Rs1,000 crore per year
Mukund Rajan says over the last decade, the CSR spend, between the Tata trusts and the Tata companies, has been in excess of Rs8,000 cr
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Mumbai: The Tata group spends about ₹ 1,000 crore annually on corporate social responsibility (CSR) work and even has a dedicated unit, Tata Sustainability Group, which addresses key environmental issues related to water, carbon and waste, a top company executive said.
“Over the last decade, our spend on CSR activities, between the Tata trusts and the Tata companies, has been in excess of ₹ 8,000 crore," Mukund Rajan, member, group executive council and brand custodian, Tata Sons Ltd, said in a press briefing on Tuesday.
“In the past three years, we have been trending at an average of ₹ 1,000 crore per annum between the trusts and our companies, typically in a 60:40 ratio between the companies and the trusts. The specific figure for 2013-14 for the Tata companies ₹ 660 crore," Rajan said.
India’s new companies law mandates that companies with a net worth of more than ₹ 500 crore or revenue of more than ₹ 1,000 crore or net profit of more than ₹ 5 crore must spend at least 2% of their average net profit of the preceding three years on CSR.
Although the law does not stipulate penalties for non-compliance, firms that do not do this may have to explain their non-compliance to the government.
The Tata group, which comprises around 100 companies ended 2013-14 with revenue of around $100 billion, with over 60% coming from outside India. Experts said assuming that the Tata group is making 10% of $100 billion as net profit, the group is investing more than 2% of its profit made out of Indian operations.
Raveendra Chittoor, assistant professor of strategy at the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad, said this focus on CSR could boost the Tata Group’s image with investors and consumers.
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