A handful of corporate giants continued to drive India’s CSR landscape in FY26, with the top five spenders accounting for nearly 45 per cent of the ₹11,391 crore spent by 46 Nifty 50 companies analysed by businessline, even as overall social spending jumped 17 per cent year-on-year.HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries, Tata Consultancy Services, ICICI Bank and State Bank of India together accounted for over 45 per cent (₹5,143 crore) of the total CSR expenditure by the companies analysed by businessline. HDFC Bank emerged as the largest contributor, with a CSR spend of ₹1,316 crore in FY26, followed by Reliance Industries at ₹1,223 crore, TCS at ₹1,017 crore, ICICI Bank at ₹878 crore, and SBI at ₹709 crore.Spending jumpThe sharpest increases came from companies that expanded their CSR allocations from relatively smaller bases. Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone increased its CSR expenditure more than 30 times, to ₹154 crore in FY26 from ₹4.5 crore in FY25, while Bharti Airtel’s spending rose nearly six-fold, to ₹176 crore from ₹31 crore. InterGlobe Aviation also saw its CSR outlay nearly triple, to ₹37 crore from ₹14 crore. Among other large corporates, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finance and Kotak Mahindra Bank recorded significant increases, reflecting rising social investments by the financial services sector.On the other hand, some companies reduced their CSR allocations during the year. Reliance Industries cut its spending by 7 per cent to ₹1,223 crore, while Tata Steel reduced its outlay to ₹473 crore from ₹585 crore. The decline in spending by some metal, energy and manufacturing companies partly offset higher allocations by banks, IT companies and diversified groups, although the overall CSR pool still recorded a 17 per cent increase in FY26.The FY26 trends come against the backdrop of a steady rise in corporate social spending across India over the past five years. Data presented by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs in Parliament during the ongoing Monsoon Session showed that total CSR expenditure by companies increased by 57 per cent, from ₹26,211 crore in FY21 to ₹40,794 crore in FY25. Maharashtra remained the largest recipient of CSR funds during the five-year period, attracting a cumulative ₹29,511 crore between FY21 and FY25. It was followed by Gujarat with ₹12,471 crore, Karnataka with ₹10,913 crore, Tamil Nadu with ₹9,051 crore, and Delhi with ₹8,199 crore.Key beneficiariesEducation and healthcare remained the biggest beneficiaries of corporate social investments. Between FY21 and FY25, companies spent ₹50,000 crore on education-related initiatives and ₹38,373 crore on healthcare. Environmental sustainability attracted ₹11,379 crore during the period, while rural development projects received ₹10,694 crore. At the other end of the spectrum, smaller States and Union Territories continued to receive relatively lower levels of CSR funding.Published on August 4, 2026