Parliament Question: CSR Spending in Desert and Border Districts

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CORPORATE AFFAIRS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3740 ANSWERED ON MONDAY, MARCH 16, 2026/PHALGUNA 25, 1947 (SAKA) CSR SPENDING IN DESERT AND BORDER DISTRICTS QUESTION 3740. Shri Ummeda Ram Beniwal: Will the Minister of CORPORATE AFFAIRS be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government has taken steps to encourage corporate social responsibility (CSR) spending in desert and border districts like Barmer; (b) if so, the details thereof, particularly in sectors such as education, water management, and skill development; and (c) whether any monitoring mechanism has been set up to ensure effective utilization of CSR funds in these areas, if so, the details thereof? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF CORPORATE AFFAIRS AND MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS [SHRI HARSH MALHOTRA] (a) & (b): Under the Companies Act, 2013 (‘Act’), CSR is a Board driven process and the Board of the company is empowered to plan, decide, execute and monitor CSR activities of the company based on the recommendation of its CSR Committee. This Committee formulates and recommends the CSR policy, which outlines the activities to be undertaken by the company in alignment with the areas or subjects specified in Schedule VII. The Government does not issue any directions to Corporates to spend in any particular area or activity. On the basis of annual filings filed by the companies in MCA21 registry, the development sector-wise details of CSR expenditure in the district of Barmer for the last three financial years (FYs) i.e. 2021-22 to 2023-24 is attached at Annexure. (c): The existing legal provisions regarding formation of CSR committee, formulation of CSR policy, Annual Action Plan on CSR, identification of the project and area in which project will be implemented, certification of CSR expenditure by Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and audit of CSR expenditure by statutory auditors, etc., provide adequate mechanisms to ensure transparency and accountability. The Board has to ensure that the approved amount has been spent on the assigned activity(ies). *****Annexure Refer to part (a) & (b) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question no. 3740 for 16.03.2026 Development Sector-wise CSR expenditure in Barmer district from FY 2021-22 to FY 2023-24 (Amount in Rupees Crore) FY FY FY S.No. Development Sector 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 1. Animal welfare 0.16 0.77 2.51 2. Armed Forces, Veterans, War Widows/ Dependants 0.03 0.26 0.03 3. Art and culture 0.25 0.25 0.13 4. Conservation of natural resources - 0.00 0.58 5. Education 3.92 2.86 5.47 6. Environmental sustainability 0.73 0.18 0.16 7. Health care 4.21 6.23 3.53 8. Livelihood enhancement projects 0.99 1.18 0.69 9. Poverty, Eradicating Hunger, Malnutrition 1.18 0.01 2.62 10. Rural development projects 1.99 2.86 1.11 11. Safe drinking water 1.31 1.82 0.38 12. Sanitation 0.57 0.01 0.20 13. Senior Citizens Welfare 0.00 - - 14. Special education - 0.05 - 15. Training to promote sports 0.14 1.33 0.23 16. Vocational skills 0.02 0.25 0.25 17. Women empowerment 0.23 0.49 0.55 Total 15.74 18.56 18.43 (Data upto 31.03.2025) (Source: Corporate Data Management Cell) *****