In a major move that could boost the creation of health infrastructure for pandemic care, the Corporate Affairs Ministry on Wednesday clarified that spending CSR funds for the establishment of medical oxygen generation and storage plants; manufacturing and supply of oxygen concentrators, ventilators, cylinders and other medical equipment for countering Covid are eligible CSR activities under company law.

Companies can now use their allocated corporate social responsibility funds to create health infrastructure for COVID care, creating medical oxygen generation or storage plants, or manufacturing and supplying medical equipment, including ventilators and oxygen cylinders and concentrators, the ministry clarified in a post on Twitter.

In April, the ministry had said that spending on setting up makeshift COVID-19 hospitals and temporary care facilities would be considered as eligible under corporate social responsibility. It was in continuation of a circular the ministry had issued last year, during the first wave of COVID-19 infections, which said that spending on awareness campaigns and public outreach programmes to promote vaccination was an eligible corporate social responsibility activity.

As per law, companies with a turnover of over 10 bln rupees and net worth of over 5 bln rupees or net profit of over 50 mln rupees are mandated to spend 2% of their average net profit from the three previous financial years on CSR.

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