CSR EXPENDITURE FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT IN GUJARAT: TRENDS, SECTORAL ALLOCATION AND DISTRICT-LEVEL DISPARITIES

Abstract

The Indian Companies Act, 2013, mandates that eligible firms spend ≥2% of profits on CSR. It covers areas like rural development. Although overall CSR spending has grown substantially, studies note that funds are disproportionately focused in industrial states and sectors. This study examines five years of CSR data for Gujarat from 2019–20 to 2023–24. It focuses on the rural development sector. Using official CSR portal data, temporal trends, sectoral shares, and district-level allocations are analysed. Descriptive statistics show that CSR spending in Gujarat has expanded sharply, but rural development projects receive a relatively small share of funds. Lorenz curves and Gini coefficients are applied to quantify inequality across Gujarat’s districts, which find very high disparity (Gini >0.5) in rural development funding. Key findings indicate that top districts (e.g. Ahmedabad) receive the bulk of CSR, while several rural districts remain severely underfunded. The results highlight persistent geographic imbalances in CSR allocation, which reinforce concerns that CSR’s redistributive potential is diluted when funds bypass needy areas.