By Eldee

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) spending in India’s 112 Aspirational Districts — the backward regions identified by NITI Aayog for accelerated development — grew by nearly 20 per cent in FY 2023-24, reaching Rs 1,521.44 crore from Rs 1,265.36 crore the previous year, according to the latest data tabled in Parliament by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

The figures, part of a Rajya Sabha response in early February 2026, reflect a gradual shift towards channelling private sector resources into underdeveloped pockets, even as overall national CSR expenditure climbed to Rs 34,908.75 crore in FY24 from Rs 30,932.08 crore in FY23.

Aspirational districts, which account for some of the country’s highest poverty and lowest human development indices, continue to receive only about 4-4.5 per cent of the total CSR pie — a share that has more than tripled over the past decade from around 1.3 per cent but remains modest given the scale of need.

The data highlights stark regional and district-level variations. Jharkhand emerged as the top recipient among states, with its aspirational districts attracting around Rs 317 crore in FY24 (up from Rs 263 crore), driven largely by industrial and mining-linked contributions.

Districts such as Purbi Singhbhum (Rs 94.20 crore) and Ranchi (Rs 80.65 crore) remained heavyweights, benefiting from proximity to corporate operations in steel, coal and heavy industries.

Madhya Pradesh followed closely, with Singrauli topping the national list at Rs 114.29 crore in FY24 — the single highest district allocation — underscoring the influence of energy and mining sectors.

Other notable performers included Uttarakhand’s Haridwar (Rs 75.80 crore) and Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli, which saw a dramatic jump from Rs 14.55 crore to Rs 70.15 crore, likely tied to increased focus on tribal and forested areas.

Yet the pattern reveals persistent clustering. A handful of districts — often those with resource extraction or strategic industrial presence — captured a disproportionate share, while many remote or low-activity aspirational districts received negligible funds.

Several, including Namsai in Arunachal Pradesh, Bijapur and Narayanpur in Chhattisgarh, and Yadgir in Karnataka, recorded zero or near-zero spending in both years. Others, like Sirohi in Rajasthan, saw sharp declines (from Rs 50.97 crore to Rs 20.67 crore).

Experts point to the voluntary, board-driven nature of CSR under Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013, which encourages but does not mandate spending in specific geographies beyond preferring local areas around operations.

Government-owned companies have been more proactive, directing a higher proportion (around 11 per cent in recent analyses) to aspirational districts compared to private firms.

Reports from think tanks such as Sattva Consulting note that while private corporations now contribute the majority of aspirational district funding — led by BFSI and energy/mining sectors with natural rural linkages — the overall flow remains aligned more with business footprints than pure equity considerations. Three-fourths of district-mapped CSR often concentrates in metros, Tier-1/2 cities or industrial hubs with lower poverty levels.

NITI Aayog’s Aspirational Districts Programme, launched in 2018, has used real-time monitoring and convergence with central schemes to drive improvements in health, education, nutrition and infrastructure across these regions.

The rising CSR inflows complement these efforts, but stakeholders argue for stronger nudges — such as better alignment with district priorities, multi-year commitments and incentives for non-core area spending — to ensure more equitable distribution.

The Ministry maintains that CSR data is publicly available on csr.gov.in, empowering transparency and stakeholder scrutiny. As national CSR totals approach Rs 35,000 crore annually, the challenge remains translating incremental gains in backward districts into transformative, sustained impact amid uneven corporate priorities.