The government has decided to include corporates spending on checking coronavirus as part of the Corporate Social Responsibility.

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In a circular issued by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, said that corporate spending for various activities related to COVID-19 including promotion of healthcare, preventive healthcare, sanitation, disaster management would qualify for treatment as CSR. The interpretation of the activities qualifying as CSR for COVID-19 will also be interpreted liberally to prevent red tape from squeezing fund flows.

The corporate social responsibility rules make it mandatory for large Indian firms to set aside at least 2 percent of their average net profit for socially responsible expenditures. The norms are applicable to firms with at least Rs 5 crore net profit or Rs 1,000 crore turnover or Rs 500 crore net worth. The list of activities included under CSR is decided by the government.

With the approval to include COVID-19, which has been declared a global pandemic by WHO and a notified disaster by the Indian government, into CSR spent, huge fund flow is expected to come into the healthcare segment. The total corporate social responsibility (CSR) spending by the top 500 companies in the country since the applicability of mandatory CSR in 2014 is likely to cross Rs 60,000 crore by the end of month as per industry reports.