India becomes the first country to mandate CSR policy

For the companies that comply with the criteria mentioned in The Companies Act, 2013, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) rules have been made mandatory in India. CSR is a corporate initiative, which examines the organizational impact on the society with their response evaluation.

Companies with a net worth of Rs 4.96 billion or more, or with Rs 992 billion of more annual turnover, or net profit worth Rs 50 million and over during a fiscal year, are expected to contribute 2% of their average profit of the last 3 years towards the initiative.

Also being termed as “corporate citizenship”, CSR can further include short term costs of the company that provide social and environmental welfare.

“The Indian IT industry has a talent base of 4 million employees and companies are already engaged in significant CSR work while encouraging workers to contribute”, said Sangeeta Gupta, chief strategy officer of the Nasscom lobby group. 

Some companies actively moving towards incorporating CSR projects include:

1. TATA Group

Major area of contribution in community-oriented and poverty alleviation programmes.

2. ITC Group

Focused on sustainable livelihood and environmental down gauge

3. Mahindra&Mahindra

Their CSR programmes actively include grants and scholarships, healthcare, disaster management and water conservation.

CSR is applicable to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as well, depending upon the size and nature of its operations. The national relief fund under the Prime Minister accepts voluntarily contributions from individuals, companies, trusts, institutions, etc.

Prime Minister Modi, also addressed the CSR initiative by personally launching a portal to consolidate efforts to maximize impact and accelerate government’s involvement.

The portal is in its final stages of launch under MyGov to host its future activities. The main aim is to provide the companies with a chance to volunteer in creating a positive social impact. Alignment of the efforts of the industry with the government in skilling, financial and digital literacy, Swachh Bharat and other key areas will be prioritized.

Key invitees to the launch are prominent names such as Mukesh Ambani, Sunil Bharti Mittal, N Chandrasekhar and Anand Mahindra.

The CSR initiative is a welcome step taken by the government to boost social projects taken by both public and private sector companies. It is a significant measure to help increase corporate social responsibility engagements conforming to the policy.