Companies follow poor disclosure norms on CSR, says proxy advisory firm

MUMBAI. Top companies in India follow poor disclosure standards when it comes to revealing the details of their spending on corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, says a recent report by proxy advisory firm Institutional Investor Advisory Services (IiAS).
 
The report says Indian companies spend almost half of what they are required to do on CSR activities under the Companies Act, 2013. These companies spent Rs 2,660 crore on CSR activities in 2012/13, which is one per cent of the average profit before tax of the preceding three years, it says. The report tracked 51 companies that are part of the Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensex and the National Stock Exchange's Nifty indices.
 
Among the 51 companies, the largest CSR spenders include Tata Steel (Rs 470.8 crore), Reliance Industries (Rs 357.1 crore), Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (Rs 261.6 crore), ICICI Bank (Rs 116.6 crore) and State Bank of India (Rs 123 crore).
 
Five companies - Ambuja Cements, Cairn India, Jindal Steel & Power, Tata Motors and Tata Steel-are already spending at least two per cent of their profits on CSR activities. 
 

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