The government admits it does not maintain crucial data on whether educational or health institutions receiving CSR funds also charge fees for the same services
NEW DELHI — Corporate India is spending more money than ever in the name of social responsibility — but no one is tracking where it really goes.
A parliamentary reply to CPI(M) MP Dr V Sivadasan has revealed that the government does not track fees charged by CSR-funded institutions or monitor conflicts of interest, leaving billions of rupees outside meaningful public scrutiny.
Despite the steep rise in spending, the government has admitted it does not maintain crucial data on whether educational or health institutions receiving CSR funds also charge fees for the same services. It also keeps no CSR-specific list of institutions in which donor companies or their related parties hold financial stakes — a gap that leaves potential conflicts of interest beyond systematic public scrutiny.
In its reply, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs stated that such information is “not required to be maintained” under the Companies Act, 2013. The response sidesteps Dr Sivadasan’s pointed questions on whether citizens are subject to double-charging or whether CSR funds are being funnelled into institutions linked to corporate promoters or related entities.
Instead, the government continues to rely on generic related-party disclosures within company financial statements — documents that are often inaccessible and difficult for ordinary citizens, local communities and even legislators to examine. This has raised sharp concerns about whether the CSR architecture adequately safeguards public interest as the scale of spending expands.
According to data provided to Parliament, total CSR expenditure has more than doubled, rising from ₹14,517 crore in 2015–16 to a provisional ₹34,909 crore in 2023–24 (data up to 31 March 2025). Yet this surge has come without corresponding increases in transparency.
A significant portion of these funds continues to flow into sectors where affordability and profiteering concerns are highest. Education remains the largest CSR head, with spending soaring from approximately ₹4,057 crore to over ₹12,134 crore during the same period. Healthcare, the second largest category, saw allocations rise from ₹2,569 crore to nearly ₹7,151 crore — with notable spikes during the pandemic years.
CSR spending on rural development, poverty alleviation, malnutrition, vocational skills, livelihood enhancement and environmental sustainability has also risen sharply over the past decade.
In contrast, contributions to certain Central Government funds — including the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund, Swachh Bharat Kosh and Clean Ganga Fund — have fluctuated widely with no clear public rationale for these shifts in corporate priorities.
The legal framework permits companies to channel CSR money through Section 8 companies, registered trusts, societies, and various government-backed bodies with a three-year track record. However, no centralised public registry exists to track links between donors, implementing agencies and end-user institutions. Without such visibility, experts warn, it is nearly impossible to identify cases where CSR may be indirectly benefiting promoters, group firms or profit-driven “charitable” institutions that continue to levy high fees.
Given the magnitude of funds now moving through what Dr Sivadasan described as an increasingly “opaque regime,” the revelations have intensified calls for sweeping reforms. Policy experts and civil society groups argue for mandatory disclosure of user charges in CSR-supported institutions, a public CSR related-party registry, and granular data on projects and implementing agencies.
With the government conceding key information gaps even as CSR spending hits unprecedented levels, the pressure is mounting on the ministry to strengthen India’s CSR transparency framework before opacity becomes entrenched.
