Skill Development- A Preferred Area For CSR

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a company’s sense of responsibility towards the community and environment in which it operates.

- Vivek Gupta

As per the Companies Act 2013, corporates are required to spend at least 2% of their profits every year on CSR. Skill development is fast emerging as one of the most preferred choices for CSR initiatives in India. CSR funding in education and skill development areas have increased by around 50% from 2073 crore in FY 2015-2016 to reach 3,121 crore in FY 2017-2018 - roughly accounting for one third of the total CSR money spent in the country.

Why do companies invest in skill development programme?

India enjoys a demographic dividend where more than 50% of its population is in a working age group. This unique demographic feature presents an opportunity for India to enhance its growth as well as source skilled manpower to the rest of the world. According to a report by the World Bank, it is estimated that during the next 20 years the labour force in the industrial world is expected to decline by 4% while in India it will increase by 32%. Hence a skilled and young population might make India a global sourcing hub for manpower.