CSR spending in India to triple by FY35, but inequities remain in distribution
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BENGALURU: Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in India is poised for a sharp growth trajectory over the next decade, with total spends expected to rise from roughly Rs 35,000 crore in the financial year ended March 2024 (FY24) to over Rs 1.2 lakh crore by FY35.
Despite this scale, significant questions remain about how equitably and strategically these funds will be deployed across sectors and geographies.
According to the latest 'Dus spoke India Inc 2025' CSR review by Give Grants, CSR has evolved from an obligation to an increasingly strategic lever for corporate reputation and employee engagement.
'CSR in India has evolved remarkably over the past decade. But the next phase will be about bold choices, directing funds where they are needed the most, taking risks to innovate and working together across sectors to drive large-scale change,' Sumit Tayal, CEO, Give Grants, said.
Give Grants, an advisory and research platform that works with corporates and nonprofits to design, implement, and measure social programmes across India, found in its review that 66% of India's top 200 CSR spenders now focus their efforts on four or fewer priority areas – mainly education (34%) and health (27%) -- making CSR more concentrated and aligned with core business priorities.
But the biggest challenge for CSR lies in its highly unequal distribution.
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The review found that roughly 500 companies accounted for nearly 70% of CSR spending in FY23, and the bulk of that money was concentrated in eight highly industrialised states – Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Odisha. Low‑income areas like the North‑East and 112 aspirational districts continue to draw only about 2-4% of total spend.
The trend threatens to deepen existing inequities unless CSR adopts a more balanced approach.
As the review warns, 'Without strategic shifts, CSR risks reinforcing structural disparities rather than addressing them.'
The review also showed a paradox. CSR is one of the biggest and steadiest sources of private funding for social causes, yet it is still treated like a box‑ticking exercise. Strict rules and short‑term grants make it hard for NGOs to build their own teams and systems. In fact, 86% of NGOs said they get little or no support to build their capacity, making long‑term planning and lasting change much harder.
CSR leaders remain optimistic about its potential to drive systemic and equitable change. The review finds that more than 80% of CSR heads view long‑term partnerships, multi‑year grants, and direct execution as vital levers for addressing deep‑rooted social challenges. Yet, systemic constraints, from trust deficits to complex governance hurdles, often hamper corporate collaboration.
'A shift we hope to see is moving from conformity to calculated risk‑taking. Organisations often stick to tried‑and‑tested interventions for predictable outcomes. But the world is increasingly fluid, and some portion of CSR portfolios -- say 20-30% -- should go towards experimental or high‑risk investments. These may not show immediate outcomes but can lead to long‑term impact and systemic learnings,' Rumi Mallick Mitra, director and global head, CSR, EY Global Delivery Service, said.
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