 "CSR spending by CPSEs surge 19% to Rs 4,911 cr, reaches 4-year high in FY24")
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) spending by central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) surged by 19 per cent to Rs 4,911 crore in 2023-24 (FY24), marking a four-year high after a dip in 2022-23 (FY23), according to the latest edition of the Public Enterprises Survey released by the Ministry of Finance.
The top five CPSEs contributing the highest amounts to CSR expenditure in FY24 include Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), Indian Oil Corporation (IndianOil), Power Grid Corporation of India, REC, and Power Finance Corporation.
The survey further indicates that the top 10 CPSEs contributed 56.72 per cent of the total CSR expenditure in FY24. As for the financial performance of CPSEs, the net profit of profit-making CPSEs reached Rs 3.43 trillion in FY24, a notable increase from Rs 2.47 trillion in FY23, reflecting a growth of 38.66 per cent.
This increase is largely attributed to CPSEs in the petroleum (refinery and marketing) sector. The top five CPSEs with the highest net profits are ONGC, Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL), NTPC, and Coal India.
On the other hand, the net loss of loss-incurring CPSEs stood at Rs 21,000 crore in FY24, compared to Rs 29,000 crore in FY23, marking a decrease of 27.6 per cent. Major loss-incurring CPSEs include Bharat Sanchar Nigam, Rashtriya Ispat Nigam, Mahanagar Telephone Nigam, Bharat PetroResources, and NMDC Steel.
Starting April 1, 2014, the government mandated that all companies, including CPSEs, with a networth of at least Rs 500 crore, a minimum turnover of Rs 1,000 crore, or a minimum net profit of Rs 5 crore, spend at least 2 per cent of their average net profit from the preceding three financial years on CSR activities.
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These activities include areas such as eradicating hunger and poverty, healthcare and sanitation, rural development, education and skill development, disaster management, environmental sustainability, empowerment of women and economically disadvantaged sections, sports, arts and culture, and armed forces welfare, among others.
Overall, the net profit of operating CPSEs during FY24 rose 47.4 per cent to Rs 3.22 trillion. However, the total gross revenue from the operations of CPSEs during FY24 fell by 4.7 per cent to Rs 36.08 trillion. Among sectors, manufacturing, processing, and generation continued to dominate, contributing 71.74 per cent of the gross revenue in FY24.
The four major sectors — petroleum (refinery and marketing) (56.62 per cent), power generation (6.11 per cent), transport and logistics services (5.05 per cent), and trading and marketing (4.86 per cent) — together accounted for 72.65 per cent of the total gross revenue in FY24.
The CPSEs with the highest revenues during FY24 include IndianOil, BPCL, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation, Food Corporation of India, and NTPC.