Private philanthropy outgrows company CSR spends in FY23 – Study finds

Private philanthropy witnessed a 10% growth to reach Rs 1.2 lakh crore ($15 billion) in FY2023, driven by family philanthropy (15%) and retail (12%) donations. As against this, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and high-net-worth individual (HNI)/affluent donations grew moderately at 7%, despite an expanding donor base, the India Philanthropy Report 2024 by Bain & Co and Dasra says.

Overall, India’s social sector spending witnessed a robust annual growth of 13% over the last five years, reaching approximately Rs 23 lakh crore ($280 billion) in FY 2023, which accounts for 8.3% of GDP. Despite this, India is below the NITI Aayog’s estimated spend (13% of GDP) to achieve UN SDG goals by 2030, the India Philanthropy Report 2024 by Bain & Co and Dasra says.

The social sector spending is primarily fuelled by public spending; however, private philanthropy has the potential to significantly strengthen resilience and build capacity at the grassroots level. According to the report, overall private philanthropy is expected to continue to expand at 10% –15% annually over the next five years, driven by strong development in three segments: CSR, family philanthropy and retail. This marks a significant acceleration from the 5% annual growth observed between 2018 and 2023.

CSR spending for FY 2023 is estimated at Rs 28,000 crore, with its share of domestic private giving increasing to 30% from 22% in FY 2018 following increased compliance and profit growth. There has been a notable increase in corporate givers due to the regulatory changes, as evidenced by the proportion of companies complying with the CSR mandate (2% of profits), which increased from approximately 30% in FY 2018 to more than 60% in FY2022.

Further, family philanthropy, which accounts for 28% of private domestic contributions, amounted to Rs 33,000 crore in FY 2023 and is projected to grow at an annual rate of 16% until FY 2028.

Within family philanthropy, ultra-high-net-worth individual (UHNI) giving grew by 60% in FY 2023 to INR 6,850 crore, driven by concurrent donors and a few prominent philanthropists including Azim Premji and Shiv Nadar. Premji increased his contributions by over Rs 1,000 crore and Nadar by over Rs 700 crore in FY 2023.

On the other hand, overall giving from HNIs and affluent givers grew moderately by 7% to reach Rs 26,000 crore in FY 2023.