A. Background
In line with the vision of the company to energizing lives, the CSR initiatives of the Company are guided to ensure sustainable development and transform existing challenges into unique strengths that can be harnessed for nation building.
The Company believes that CSR is more than mere compliance, creating social value is integrated with Company’s business operations. The potential to connect to the communities as well as showcasing the spirit of corporate citizenship shall be the focus. The Company always advocates through its action that CSR is also a tool for creating relationships with various stakeholders including the communities around its operational locations.
The CSR Policy aligns the company with Missions of National Priority and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It also has a deep focus on governance and transparency, in the constantly evolving and complex world of addressing social issues. The Policy shall serve as a guiding document to inspire corporate sustainability and further energize the Company to keep serving the country.
D. Financial Resources
The company’s budget for CSR shall be 2 per cent of its average net profits of the three preceding financial years. The net profit is to be calculated in accordance with the provisions of section 198 of the Act.
Budget Allocations: The budget allocation for CSR activities will be approved by the Board as recommended by the CSR Committee of the Board along with Annual Action Plan which shall include the following:
- The list of CSR projects or programs that are approved to be undertaken in areas or subjects specified in the Schedule VII of the Act;
- The manner of execution of such projects or programs.
- The modalities of utilization of funds and implementation schedules for the projects or programs.
- Monitoring and reporting mechanism for the project or program
- Details of need and impact assessment, if any, for projects undertaken by the company, provided that the Board may alter such plan at any time during the financial year as per the recommendation of its CSR Committee of the Board, based on reasonable justification to that effect.
The constitution of CSR Committee is as below:
1 Independent Director (Chairperson of CSR Committee)
2 Functional Directors
2 Government Nominee Directors
2 Independent Directors
The company shall undertake impact assessment for all projects whose total outlay is over Rupees One Crore and may book the expenditure on this account for that financial year, which shall not exceed five percent of the total CSR expenditure for that financial year or Rupees Fifty Lakhs, whichever is less.
In case, the company has any unspent CSR amount of previous financial year, the amount shall be transferred to a designated Unspent CSR Account (UCSRA) within 30 days of close of Financial Year and spent in pursuance of the CSR Policy. The amount shall be utilized within the three subsequent financial years or transferred to a Fund specified in Schedule VII, within a period of six months of completion of the third Financial Year. The unspent CSR amount shall be reported by the Board in its Directors Report specifying the reasons for not spending the amount during the Financial Year.
Any surplus generated from CSR projects shall not be added to the normal business profits, and shall be ploughed back into the same project or shall be utilized only for CSR purposes.
The Company may spend its CSR budget for creation or acquisition of a capital asset, which shall be held by –
- A company established under section 8 of the Act, or a Registered Public Trust or Registered Society, having charitable objects and CSR Registration number; or
- Beneficiaries of the said project, in the form of self-help-groups, collectives, entities; or
- A public authority.
The CSR Expenditure shall include expenditure incurred towards projects or programs relating to CSR activities approved by the Board on the recommendation of its CSR Committee of the Board, but does not include any expenditure on an item not in conformity or not in line with activities which fall within the purview of Schedule VII of the Companies Act.
When the company spends an amount in excess of what has been approved by the Board and CSR Committee of the Board such excess amount may be set off against the company’s requirement to spend under CSR up to immediate succeeding three financial years subject to the condition that –
- The excess amount available for set off shall not include the surplus arising out of CSR activities, if any.
- The Board of the company shall pass a resolution to that effect.
E. Monitoring
The company shall ensure that the CSR Process as mandated by the Companies Act, 2013 and Rules, 2014 made there under, that all projects/programs are duly implemented as budgeted and approved by the competent authorities.
The Monitoring System devised by the company shall include:
- Regular field visits to Project/Program sites by designated teams,
- Comprehensive documentation/compilation of Progress Reports,
- Regular interaction with implementing agency to obtain feedback,
- Monitoring of timely fund utilization to ensure that Projects/Programs as budgeted are actually being carried out and/or,
- Concurrent as well as end line Impact assessment shall be carried out by implementing agency to ensure smooth monitoring,
- Any other activity that the CSR Committee may deem necessary in the larger interest of its CSR initiatives.
The monitoring of the projects shall be carried out in order to assess the impact of its CSR Projects, maximize outcomes and build-in sustainability, scalability and replicability. Professional agency (Third Party Agency) may also be hired for carrying out Designing, Monitoring and Impact Assessment.