New Delhi::
The corporate sector has set aside over Rs 10,000 crore every fiscal year since 2014-15 towards corporate social responsibility(CSR), President Ram Nath Kovind said.
He said the Companies Act was amended in 2013-14 making it mandatory for companies with a specified level of profit to spend 2% of it on social welfare.
He gave away the first CSR awards on Tuesday, instituted by the Corporate Affairs Ministry.
MoS Finance Anurag Thakur said the companies over the last 5 years have contributed Rs 50,000 crore and above towards CSR.Corporate affairs secretary Injeti Srinivas said the companies have spent Rs 50,000 crore cumulatively over the last five years on social welfare activities.
Maximum funds have been given to projects for poverty alleviation, safe drinking water, education, health.
The government has recently broadened the scope of the mandatory CSR spending and has effectively facilitated the concept of CSR to be turned into corporate innovation responsibility (CIR). The move essentially provides a nudge to companies to spend up to 2 per cent of their profits on supporting research and innovation.